#had the urge to do so and no one stopped me so have some Athena birthday art ^^

[gf2bellamy]

hi athena I recently fell in love with your writing and I figured I'd try sending in a request, I'd love to see your spin on this:

perhaps a shy!reader and spencer get stuck in an elevator at quantico? I was thinking that the reader works elsewhere in the FBI and the two of them have exchanged glances like a hallway crush??

do with that what you will it's so random lol and keep on writing!!! your posts always make me smile <3333

elevator — spencer reid

pairing: spencer reid x reader ( no use of y/n ) content warnings: being stuck in an elevator ( + some statistics abt it bc it's spencer we're talking about ) , one tiny mention of claustrophobia a/n: hiiiii <3 i hope this is what you asked for <33 ty for your request !

You were so ready to go to bed.

Correction, you had been thinking about your bed since the moment you dragged yourself out of it this morning. Every second of your exhausting day had only reinforced one goal: getting home, slipping under the covers, and finally resting. With a relieved sigh, you stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for your floor. The doors began to slide shut when you heard a voice.

“Wait!”

A hand shot out, halting the doors just in time. Your heart stuttered as you looked up and met his eyes.

Dr. Spencer Reid.

The same Spencer Reid who made your pulse race just by walking past your desk. The one you exchanged fleeting glances with in the hallway but never had the courage to actually talk to. The one whose voice alone made your stomach flutter in ways you didn’t care to admit. He stepped inside, shifting his satchel higher on his shoulder.

“Hi,” he said softly, his voice warm, almost hesitant.

You swallowed, feeling your face heat up. “Hi,” you echoed, barely above a whisper.

Oh God. That was so quiet.

You resisted the urge to facepalm right then and there. Instead, you focused on the numbers ticking down as the elevator descended. Beside you, Spencer tugged at the strap of his bag, his fingers fidgeting, something you had noticed he did when he was nervous.

Was he nervous?

Before you could dwell on the thought, a sudden jolt rocked the elevator. The lights flickered, and the movement came to an abrupt stop. You let out a small gasp as your balance shifted. For a split second, you thought you were about to fall. But before you could, a warm hand shot forward, steadying you.

Spencer’s hand. His fingers wrapped gently around your wrist, anchoring you before you could stumble.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his brows knitting together in concern.

You exhaled, nodding quickly as you regained your footing. “Yeah—yeah, I think so. What just happened?”

Spencer glanced up at the ceiling, analyzing the situation almost immediately. “It seems like the elevator stopped. Possibly a mechanical failure.”

Your stomach twisted. “You mean we’re stuck?”

“For now,” he admitted. “But most modern elevators have emergency systems in place. It shouldn’t be long before it’s back up and running.”

You nodded, trying to push down the creeping anxiety. You weren’t necessarily claustrophobic, but this wasn’t exactly ideal. Spencer must have sensed your unease because his grip on your wrist loosened slightly, though he didn’t let go just yet. Instead, he tilted his head, studying you.

“You sure you’re okay?” His voice was softer now, gentle in a way that made your stomach flip for an entirely different reason.

You swallowed, forcing a small smile. “Yeah. Just… wasn’t expecting to get stuck in an elevator at the end of the day.”

Spencer’s lips quirked slightly. “Statistically, it’s rare, but not impossible. Elevators have an average failure rate of about one in 5,000 rides.”

You blinked, processing that bit of information before mumbling, “Oh… okay.”

Your eyes drifted downward, drawn to where his hand was still wrapped around your wrist. His grip was warm , but the realization made your face heat up. Spencer must have noticed because he quickly followed your gaze and immediately let go, his fingers retracting.

“Sorry,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as his other hand went back to fiddling with the strap of his satchel.

You flexed your fingers absentmindedly, missing the warmth of his touch more than you’d like to admit. The elevator hummed with silence as the minutes stretched on, neither of you speaking.

You were stuck in an elevator. With Spencer Reid.

The Spencer Reid you had spent far too long stealing glances at from across the bullpen. The Spencer Reid whose voice alone sent a flutter of nerves through your stomach. The Spencer Reid you had been crushing on for ages but had never quite found the courage to talk to.Your heart pounded so fast you were almost convinced he could hear it.

After another long pause, you cleared your throat. “Uh… shouldn’t we press a button or something?”

Spencer blinked, looking almost startled, like he had been lost in thought himself.

“Oh. Right.” He seemed flustered as he reached forward, pressing the red emergency button. A small beep echoed through the space, but nothing else happened. The elevator remained still. The two of you stared at the button. Then at each other.

A small smile tugged at the corners of your lips, and before you knew it, a quiet giggle escaped you.

Spencer tilted his head, his brow furrowing slightly. “What?”

You shook your head, grinning. “I don’t know… this just feels like something out of a bad rom-com.”

His lips twitched, like he was fighting back a smile himself. “Technically, rom-coms often rely on contrived meet-cutes or forced proximity to create romantic tension. Statistically speaking, getting stuck in an elevator with someone you like—”

He stopped abruptly, his mouth snapping shut.

Your breath hitched. Did he just—

Spencer’s face turned an unmistakable shade of pink as he quickly averted his gaze. “Uh—I mean, hypothetically speaking, of course,” he stammered.

Your heart thudded against your ribs, and suddenly, the broken elevator was the least of your concerns. A tense silence stretched between you. Your brain scrambled to process what had just happened, what he had just said.

Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid, had just implied, no, accidentally admitted, that he liked someone. And while logic told you it could have been a general statement, the way his ears burned, the way his fingers fidgeted with the strap of his satchel, and the way he wouldn’t meet your gaze told you otherwise.

Your breath felt stuck in your throat. You should say something. Anything. But your mind had gone completely blank, and all you could manage was shifting slightly on your feet, your fingers tightening around the hem of your sleeve.

Spencer, still looking anywhere but at you, cleared his throat and rocked back on his heels. “Uh—so, um, the emergency system should register the alarm soon,” he mumbled, his voice noticeably higher-pitched than usual. “It’s standard protocol for maintenance teams to check non-moving elevators within, uh, approximately five to ten minutes. Depending on how busy they are. Which, statistically, varies based on the building’s occupancy and—”

He was rambling. He always rambled, but this felt different. His words were rushed, like he was trying to fill the silence, trying to fix whatever had just slipped out.

And you were standing there, internally panicking, heart hammering so hard it drowned out half of what he was saying.

After a moment, Spencer finally risked a glance at you, and the moment your eyes met, you quickly dropped your gaze to the floor, heat creeping up your neck. The realization that he noticed your nervous reaction only made things worse.

He hesitated. “Are you okay?”

You swallowed, nodding a little too quickly. “Mhm.”

Oh my god, say actual words.

Spencer shifted, watching you with those observant eyes. The same ones that had probably already figured out that you were completely losing it over a simple slip of the tongue.

Desperate to distract yourself, you turned slightly, eyeing the elevator panel. “Maybe we should, um… press another button?” Your voice was quieter than you would have liked, but at least you said something.

Spencer blinked, as if realizing he had completely forgotten about that. “Oh. Right. Good idea.”

Reaching forward, he pressed the lobby button. Then the button for your floor. Then, seemingly just for good measure, the emergency button again.

Nothing. The elevator remained still.

You huffed out a quiet, nervous laugh. “Guess we’re really stuck.”

Spencer exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah… guess so.”

The silence settled again. You shifted on your feet, sneaking a glance at him. He wasn’t looking at you anymore, his gaze was fixed on the ground, his expression unreadable.

Maybe you were overthinking this. Maybe he hadn’t meant anything by it. Maybe he was just talking statistically, like he always did.

Or maybe…

Maybe you weren’t the only one who had been stealing glances in the hallway.

Before you could spiral any further into your overthinking, the elevator suddenly lurched back to life with a jolt. You barely managed to keep your balance, your hands instinctively reaching for the railing behind you. Spencer, on the other hand, swayed slightly but recovered just as quickly, his hand gripping the strap of his satchel like a lifeline.

The flickering overhead light steadied. The buttons lit up in sequence.You were moving again.

You should have felt relieved. But instead, there was this strange, almost disappointing weight settling in your chest, like the moment was slipping away too fast, like something important had just been cut short. You risked a glance at Spencer. He was still staring at the elevator doors, his lips slightly parted, his brows furrowed.

Then, just as the doors slid open with a ding, he took a sharp breath and turned to you.

“So—um.” He cleared his throat, shifting on his feet. “I was wondering if maybe you’d, uh…” He hesitated for half a second, his fingers tapping anxiously against his bag. “If you’d like to get coffee with me sometime?”

You blinked. He was asking you out. Spencer Reid was asking you out.

The words barely registered before you felt yourself nodding. “Y-Yeah,” you managed, your voice coming out a little too soft, a little too breathless. “I’d like that.”

Spencer’s shoulders relaxed just slightly, like he’d been bracing for rejection. His lips quirked into a small, nervous smile. “Okay. Great. Um—I mean, I don’t know if you’re busy tomorrow morning, but there’s this coffee shop near the Bureau that has really good espresso, and their pastry selection is actually pretty impressive for a small establishment—”

He was rambling again. But this time, it didn’t feel like he was covering up awkwardness.

It felt… endearing.

You bit back a smile. “Tomorrow morning sounds perfect.”

Spencer blinked, like he hadn’t expected such an easy answer. Then his smile widened, just a little, and the tips of his ears turned pink again. The elevator let out another soft chime, reminding you both that the doors had been open for a while now. You stepped out first, turning back just in time to see him hesitating for a second before following after you. You walked down the hallway, side by side.

The thought of being with Spencer, of sharing more than just quick glances in the hallway, sent a thrill through you.

[apollabarnes]

part six

"i slept with evan."

tommy's staring at the table so he doesn't have to look at her, but he knows athena heard him when she stops drinking her milkshake. he winces suddenly. bobby is like evan's dad and athena is married to the guy that's practically evan's dad. this is probably crossing a line. it's too late to take it back now.

"and?"

"and what?"

"how'd it go?" athena blinks at him once, slowly.

tommy wrestles the urge to bolt back under his ribs and grips his coffee cup a little tighter in both hands. "i'm having my post-shift breakfast with you," tommy says, bitchy and grumpy and happy to take it out on the person closest to him. he wrinkles his nose. it's not athena's fault he's a fucking idiot. "sorry. not great."

she arches an eyebrow in disbelief and tommy chokes.

"um, i mean, that part was. fine?" he can hear his voice arcing up into a question and regrets whatever impulse had him open his mouth in the first place.

"are you asking me or telling me?"

tommy catches the smug little grin at the corner of her mouth as athena takes an obnoxious sip of her milkshake, the straw rattling against the bottom of her glass.

jesus. "why didn't you tell me maddie got kidnapped?" tommy asks instead. they have a thing about not talking about evan, but this seems like the kind of thing you break the rules for.

"tommy, a detective turned out to be a serial killer and kidnapped a dispatcher," athena drawls, picking at her fruit salad, "excuse me for thinking you'd already heard about it."

that brings tommy up short. he has heard about that, but no one he'd talked to knew who the dispatcher was. he should have known. it's so crazy it could only have happened to the 118, and there's only one dispatcher attached to them.

that explains why howie's been distant the last few weeks.

"how do you even deal with that?"

"i put a tracker in bobby's arm."

he's… shit. he can't tell if athena is serious or not.

"sounds like you both had a chance to catch up before you caught up."

"i regret this entire conversation," tommy tells her, slouching lower in the booth.

"you started it, i'm just being a supportive friend."

"how are may and darius doing? he's moving in soon, right?"

"they're just fine, and that attempted redirect was blatantly obvious. you're lucky you're not in my line of work."

"i fucked it up," tommy says, shrugging and glancing out the window.

"i assumed if it went well there would be at least two more people at this table," athena says finally, and tommy sags like his strings have been cut. he presses the heels of his hands against his eyes, blinking furiously.

"ah, shit. fuck." everything is hot and prickly behind his hands and he knows he's about to cry. "damnit."

athena gives him a minute and tommy could kiss her for it. "deep breath," she says finally, sliding a glass of water in front of him. her hand is tight on the back of his neck, keeping him grounded.

"i'm okay."

athena ignores the blatant lie. "give me your keys, i'll drive you home."

discretion's the better part of valour, so tommy doesn't argue. he digs his keys out of his pocket, handing them over. athena puts on some low jazz and follows tommy's croaked directions home.

athena looks around his house and tommy wonders what she sees. tidy, spartan, the only things out of place are the things that evan left behind. he's never going to read a history on the barrel riders of niagara falls, but evan had been almost halfway through. tommy's stuck a bookmark in it and closed it, but it's still in the middle of the kitchen table. who the fuck leaves a book there. tommy blinks, looking up at the ceiling.

athena putters around the kitchen, starting the kettle and digging through tommy's cupboards until she finds the tea, making them both a cup. "i'm not about to break any confidences," she says, sitting down across from him. "but i know that whatever happened, it was on the both of you. not just you, not just him."

part one // part two // part three // part four // part five

[kinardsevan]

in the shadow, here i am (and I need someone by my side)

this is half inspired by @sherlocking-out-loud's prompt, and was also already half-written for the second half of it based off of the interaction that takes place in it. I think they slot together well <3 cw: 8x15 spoilers (although I'm assuming if you're here, you've already seen it)

It’s a long day. Bobby’s faith being what it was leads to Athena holding a full Catholic funeral for him, combined with the LAFD doing their part in holding a full processional for him. The graveside service is a struggle for everyone, and it takes every ounce of determination Evan has in him to hold it together when it comes time to ring the bell. 

Afterward, the chief announces a gathering at city hall, which most of their team comes to the conclusion that they don’t actually want to attend. Still, Athena is in full need of their support, so they band together with her to make an appearance. Still, once they’ve made a quick round, they find a way to slip her and the kids out before they all agree to meet back at Evan’s place. In some sort of cruel, twisted joke, the finishing touches seemed to be going on Bobby and Athena’s house, but Athena was still struggling to decide if she actually wanted to live there now without Bobby. Plus, in the face of losing the captain, Evan had taken on the role of taking care of everyone and making sure everything related to the funeral was covered. By relation, Tommy was doing his best to make sure Evan was taken care of, but it was all a process. He tried not to push too hard because he knew it was a delicate balance between letting Evan maintain his hold on his grief—and frankly, his sanity at the moment—and if that meant helping him host a post-funeral get-together, then so be it. 

Truth be told, though, food wasn’t what any of them wanted, even if the kitchen and multiple tables in the living room were flooded with food—mostly from recipes that Evan had learned directly from Bobby. It didn’t stop the baking, either, and there were plenty of cakes, cookies, and pastries scattered across a table set aside just for desserts. 

Stll, whether people were just being polite or they actually felt the urge to eat something, inevitably everyone ended up with at least a small plate with one thing or another on it, having changed out of their dress blues and nice clothes into more casual clothing. Light conversation scattered here and there, and while Evan was working on cutting up a homemade pizza after someone—he was pretty sure it was Eddie—suggested that greasy food might help, he returned to the living room to find their friends telling stories about Bobby. Some were funny, others were sad, but all were sentimental. 

As he walks back in and sets the pizza on the coffee table, Eddie is finishing a story about how Bobby had helped him during his time at Dispatch. Based on the way conversation has been shifting around the room, Tommy is next in line, and Evan has no idea what the pilot is going to say. 

A wistful smile pulls at his face as he stares down at the coffee cup in his hands. 

“I put in for my transfer about a month before Evan finished at the academy,” he states. He clears his throat after a moment and inhales a breath, trying to choose his words correctly. “After Bobby came into the 118, I think it was the first time I really felt like I could maybe fit somewhere, being myself. I was still trying to work out what that meant, and it took me a while, and I had this stupid fear of actually doing it in front of…” He pauses again, holding a palm out to gesture at everyone else. “Well, I guess in front of all of you.” 

Evan leans against the wall by the doorway, staring over at Tommy as he talks. His gaze falls to a loose thread on the oatmeal gray long-sleeved henley the pilot is wearing at the same time Tommy seems to spot it, pulling on it with his thumb and forefinger. He watches Tommy’s gaze flit to the ceiling, and something inside his chest twists, knowing the other man is trying to keep his own emotions at bay. 

“Anyway, I’d been flying a lot after ending my last relationship, working out what I felt like I could handle and not, and as much as I wanted to stay, I didn’t feel ready to do it in front of people who knew me so intimately. Bobby knew I was working on getting fully certified and mentioned Harbor being an option with Air Support after a few conversations where I’d mentioned being restless and needing a change.

“The week I left, he asked if we could get coffee before a shift.”

Tommy walks into the firehouse wearily, stopping by the lockers long enough to drop off his things off in his before heading up to the second floor. Bobby texted him just before he’d left his house to let him know that he’d swung by the coffeeshop nearby and picked up the good stuff. 

He climbs to the mezzanine, past the walkway and around the corner to the captiain’s office, knocking twice before entering when Bobby calls out. 

“Kinard,” Bobby greets warmly. The older man looks more awake than Tommy feels, but the coffee cup sitting on the visitor’s side of the desk has Tommy’s regular order scrawled on the side—caramel latte with extra caramel and and extra shot—and it lures him into the room, where he drops into a chair across from Bobby and lifts the lid off, taking a sip from it and letting the warmth slide down gratefully. Something about that first drop hitting his stomach feels like life kicking in and the exhaustion being tamped down just a little bit. 

“Hey Cap,” he states after recapping the drink and settling back on the desk. He grants the other man a small smile. “You wanted to talk?” 

“Yeah,” Bobby answers. He seems to study Tommy for a moment, thinking on his words. He takes another sip of his own coffee and then settles back in his chair. “I guess there’s no right way to say this, given that you’re already headed to Harbor next week. But I wanted to express that it’s been a pleasure to have you here with the team. You made settling in around here a little bit easier.” 

Tommy grants a small smile at Bobby’s statement and nods. “I appreciate it. It’s been a good thing to be here under your tutelage.” 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Bobby responds. SIlence settles in between them briefly, and Tommy’s brow furrows in curiosity. He feels a little awkward, wondering if he was really asked to come in early just so that Bobby could give him a good send-off. But when the other man doesn’t speak right away, he leans forward and starts to push up from his chair. “We done?” 

“I know you’ve been dealing with a lot of change,” Bobby comments. The way his voice sounds coming out of his mouth punches Tommy in the chest. “And I’ve never wanted to push you to talk about anything you weren’t ready for, especially if you’re not ready for it. But I hope that you're leaving is in pursuit of something that brings you good things, and that it’s not because you didn’t feel like you couldn’t be yourself or that you didn’t feel safe here.” 

Tommy gulps, staring down at the ground hard. How many times has he wished that someone would tell him that he deserves to feel safe? How many times has he wanted to find a place where someone would let him be himself? 

He picks up his coffee and stares down at it, sniffs. After a few seconds he clears his throat and looks up at Bobby. 

“I’m gay,” he rasps. He closes his eyes and shakes his head, glancing up the ceiling for a moment.“And, it’s taken me a long time to get to that without feeling like I have to…” 

“Be someone else for everybody else?” Bobby offers. 

Tommy nods. 

“And you know you don’t have to leave here in order to be who you want to be, right?” Bobby asks. 

“I do,” Tommy responds. A rueful smile crosses his face. “On both fronts. Not because of anything wrong here, but so that-..” 

“You can fully embrace it without any strings.” 

“Yeah,” Tommy answers, his voice barely more than a whisper. 

Bobby nods for a moment. “Well, you always have a place here if you ever change your mind.” 

“He was the first person I ever told,” Tommy finishes, his gaze still on his coffee cup. A hand lands on his shoulder and squeezes, and he glances up to see Eddie beside him. The younger man squeezes his shoulder again, and Tommy nods at him before his gaze shifts across the room towards Evan as someone else starts telling their own story. He watches as his ex-boyfriend-current-situationship clears his throat as an emotional expression crosses his face. He mutters a soft ‘sorry’ that Tommy’s not sure most of the room catches, and then ducks into the hallway around the corner. 

His gaze flits back toward Maddie, who seems to have been the only one who noticed, and he shakes his head in a small movement towards her, lifting his hand slightly before settling his coffee cup on the sideboard beside him and walking down the hall after Evan. 

When he reaches the end of the hall, the bedroom door is mostly shut, but a sliver of light slips through. Tommy wraps his hand around the door handle and gives a very light knock. 

“Evan?” 

He hears sniffles from inside the room and eases the door open enough to slide in before closing it behind himself. Evan is seated on the side of the bed, sniffling as he rubs a palm anxiously over his knee. 

“I’m fine,” he insists, trying to wave Tommy off with his other hand. He says it as though they haven’t spent every night together since Bobby's passing, like Tommy wasn’t the one who brought Evan home, got him showered and into bed, and stayed curled up with him for the next twelve hours as he moved through each undertow of grief. 

Tommy crosses the room anyway and sits down next to Evan, tilting his head to look at him as he rests a hand between Evan’s shoulder blades. Evan lets out a quiet sob and Tommy shifts to move closer, but Evan lifts his hand from his leg, shaking it. 

“No, no,” he insists. “I-…” He forces down a deep breath before looking up at Tommy. The pilot reaches up and wipes at the tears on Evan’s face, looking at him with concern.

“I j-just- n-nobody gets it,” Evan stammers. “Not really. I- I mean, Maddie has always had a better relationship with our parents than me, a-and I know Chim lost his mom, but he has the Lee’s, a-and Hen has her mom-..” 

“And they’ve all always had someone,” Tommy finishes for him in a softer tone. 

Evan nods. “I…b-before I got here and joined the LAFD, had Bobby in my life…” His voice trails off as he folds his hand out, at a loss for the right words. 

“You didn’t have anyone,” Tommy says, stroking his thumb between Evan’s shoulder blades where his hand still rests on the younger man’s back. It takes him a few seconds, but Evan nods, staring off into space as if recalling a memory. When he breaks from it, he glances back up at Tommy. 

“I mean, Maddie was around, but she went to Boston when I was 12, and then I tried to get her to leave with me when I was 19, and she sent me away with her jeep because of how her ex-husband was,” he explains. “And everywhere I went, I never fit. Until I got here, and landed i-in your open spot.” 

Tommy gives a small, wistful smile, nodding. 

“Bobby turned that place into a safe haven,” he comments. 

Evan nods again. “H-he was really insistent in the beginning, about how- how we weren’t family. But over time, I think we wore him down, a-and Athena.” He pauses, sniffs softly, and then shakes his head. “Somewhere in the midst of it, it was like finally having a-a real…” 

“Like having a father,” Tommy finishes. Evan nods, sniffling, and he rubs his hand up and down the younger man’s back again. 

“And I like everyone’s stories, but… no one seems to get how it feels losing that,” he murmurs. 

Tommy rolls his bottom lip between his teeth, sliding his hand down Evan’s back and pulling it away. The younger man looks over at him, a haunted expression on his face as Tommy’s own reminds him of one he’d seen on the pilot’s face the night they broke up. 

But then Tommy slides his palm into Evan’s and interlaces their fingers.

“I do,” he rasps, staring down at their hands. Evan’s eyebrows raise, and he opens his mouth to ask, only to stop himself. Something about the way Tommy is reaching out instead of running, trying to build a bridge instead of bolting, makes him stay quiet so that he can hear the man out. 

“My mom,” he explains, tilting his head slightly. The wistful smile returns as he strokes his thumb against the back of Evan’s. Tommy wrinkles his nose and sniffs. “She died when I was seven. She was kind-of my world… at least as much as a mom can be when her kid is obsessed with monster trucks. But, she loved romcoms, and she always made the best homemade red velvet cake.” 

Evan watches him silently, heartened by the fact that Tommy is choosing to finally share this part of himself with him. 

“She uh…she got sick, really fast,” Tommy states, forcing a smile on his face as his eyes start to burn. “One day she was fine, and then she got this pain in her chest, and after a really short hospital stay, she was home for a few weeks, and then she was gone.” 

Evan lifts his free hand up to Tommy’s cheek, stroking along his temple. 

“Baby,” he murmurs softly, his voice lilting. “I’m so sorry.” 

Tommy shakes his head, looking up at Evan with tears clinging to his waterline. He forces down a gulp along with a deep breath. 

“She would’ve really liked you,” he comments. He turns into Evan’s palm slightly, kissing the edge of it. “Would’ve said it was about time I found someone who wouldn’t just let me keep running.” 

Evan smiles at him, a little rueful. “Bobby already did like you.” 

Tommy raises an eyebrow slightly. “Yeah?” 

Evan nods. “He said you were good for me.” His gaze flits back and forth at Tommy’s eyes as he strokes his thumb along the man’s face again. “He wasn’t wrong.” 

Tommy’s smile grows a little, heartened as well, and he reaches up for Evan’s wrist, holding onto it as he leans into the younger man. Evan meets him in the middle, trading soft, open-mouthed kisses for a few seconds. When they part, Tommy rests his forehead against Evan’s. 

“Life’s fucking fleeting,” he murmurs. 

Tommy nods. “That it is.” 

“And I don't want another second to pass without you knowing exactly where you stand in my life,” Evan states. Tommy leans up slightly, clearly curious but also prepared for the seriousness of whatever Evan is about to say. 

“Okay?” 

The younger man’s gaze flits again, down to Tommy’s lips briefly, and then back up toward him. 

“I love you,” Evan says softly. “I’m in love with you. I have been for a long time now, and I don’t want to waste more time on what might be. I don’t want anyone else; I haven’t since the day I met you. I didn’t know what I was looking for when I found you, but I do now, and it’s just you, in whatever form that takes.” 

Tommy presses his lips together anxiously as he inhales a deep breath. He gulps, tilts his head down slightly, looking at where their hands are still intertwined.

“Why be apart when we can be together,” he murmurs, almost a whisper. 

Evan laughs a breath. “Yeah, I guess.” 

Tommy looks back up at him. “Falling in love with you is both the easiest and most terrifying thing I have ever done. You made a black and white world technicolor, but at such a speed and assurance that the crash felt inevitable. It took me a long time to realize I was the one driving the car.” He pauses, gently pulling Evan’s hand down off his face only to curl his fingers around the younger man’s chin and grin at him, his eyes drifting to Evan’s lips. “I think I loved you before I even knew you, before I knew the possibility of you. You just turned up one day, and my heart already knew you.” 

Evan blushes at Tommy’s words. 

“‘course, I had to get out of my own way first,” he comments, and they both laugh. Tommy tilts his head slightly, still looking at him. “I love you so much, Evan. I wake up every day thankful that you’ve survived a bomb that was intended for me, and being struck by lightning, and lately I feel really fucking selfish and also grateful that you didn’t get locked in that facility with the rest of the 118 and contract CCHF.” 

Evan breathes a few breaths. He understands what Tommy means, even if a wave shoots through his chest, given that he’s definitely had moments where he wished he could’ve switched places with Bobby or Chimney, regardless of the fact that he knows that Bobby would’ve fought to get everyone out if roles had been reversed. And then, of course, there’s the issue of the fact that every time he had that thought, his competing thought was the fact that he would’ve left Tommy alone. Again. It's the first time it starts to dawn on him that—as Eddie had told him so long ago—that his life isn’t expendable. Someone waits for him to come home. 

“Where do we go from here,” Evan asks softly. 

Tommy looks back at him somberly, his thumb shifting to the edge of the younger man’s jaw and stroking gently. A small laugh escapes him, and he repeats himself, his voice ticking up towards the end of the sentence. “Why be apart when we can be together?” 

“You want to move in together,” Evan asks. 

Tommy gulps. “I don’t want to risk the idea that one of us could die tomorrow, and I didn’t spend every waking moment possible getting to love you. So yes, I want to move in together. I want everything you said that night. Not…” He pauses, inhales a deep breath. “Not tomorrow, but…when things feel better, and we have a real plan.” 

Evan nods. He’d had a conversation with Athena a few days before, talking about how they both wanted more time with Bobby, and she’d mentioned the fact that he had said to her that he wanted more time with her, but they weren’t going to get it. Lying in bed over the past few nights with Tommy beside him, he couldn’t shake the fact that they were staring down the barrel of being granted that option, only to let stupid idiosyncrasies and fears stand in their way because they both kept choosing ot pine in fear instead of being willing to be the one that would take the leap and pick up the phone. 

“Will…will you s-stay? In the meantime,” Evan asks. Tommy squeezes his hand again. 

“Baby, I’ll be here as long as you let me.” 

[reidsbuckley]

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I liked the episode! Sure, some aspects of it were a bit underwhelming but from the moment I thought Graham was gonna die I was crying and didn't stop for the rest of the episode.

Starting with my critiques: I think that the emergency could have taken up a little less screen time, but in the end I didn't mind too much. I think the other thing for me was Eddie's rescue of Buck and Ravi. I wished it had been just a bit more dramatic. You know, maybe when it was Buck's turn to go there was another rumble that caused a crash that Buck went down with, and then Eddie went in to save him from there. But overall, with the first bump we got and that look that Buck gave Eddie, I was cool with it.

Now onto other things! From the moment that Chim went in after Athena, I knew something big was happening for him this episode. And something big did happen! And the moment he started calling out orders in the laundry room I knew we were getting Captain Howard Chimney Han, and I am so happy about that! I know that a lot of people wanted Hen to become captain, but if y'all remember when she was going to med school and she was interim captain, she nearly died. She had to pull over on the side of the road because she was so exhausted she was falling asleep while driving, and she was losing quality time with her family. Of course she turned it down! I was genuinely not surprised that she did that. Plus, Chim has been at the 118 longer than the any of the main cast, including Bobby himself. And as great of a captain that Bobby was, the way that Chimney spoke about him in his speech kind of gave me the closure I needed to accept Bobby's death and move forward with this new age and era of 9-1-1.

Another great thing was that we got Chimthena! The band is back, y'all! When she was telling him about how Bobby felt about him, I could tell that was her way of saying that she forgives him, even though it wasn't Chim's fault. It was also her way of urging Chimney to go for the role of captain, that it's where she thinks he deserves to be, and she is so right! And then for Chimney to be the one to tell Athena that he and Maddie named their baby boy Robert Nash Han? And Athena looking fondly at the Henren wedding photo? They're so besties! That's my family!

I also really appreciated the fact that Eddie and Chris are staying, of course, and all thanks to Captain Chim!!! He really said "Fuck your parents and El Paso, you're staying!" and then turned to Buck and said "and you too!" I also really like what he said about grief. That if Buck transferred or Eddie went back to El Paso, it wouldn't make the grief go away but force them to grieve in solitude instead (even though that's what they were literally fighting about the episode before!!!)

Now, I did say "Fuck? What do you mean?" when I saw that Buck was looking for a new place, but then he said he wanted something that felt more lived-in? Y'all, I'm calling it now we're gonna start the new season with Buddie roommates still because Buck is still looking for a new place, and that is going to be what leads to Buddie canon (if we get it at all). At least, that is what I hope happens with that plot line because right now? Yeah, I'm kind of pissed not at Oliver and Ryan essentially but more their PR team for allowing all of those interviews and Buddie questions when they all knew nothing was happening this season. Moreover I'm mad at Tim Minear because I just know Ryan Murphy is fighting for his life trying to get those to men to kiss. Like, RM made Gleeu- you cannot convince me that he's not gunning for Buddie, too. I'm convinced that it's just TM and KR keeping it from happening. But if we could get bi Buck canon after screaming it from the rooftops from day 1 then I'm sure we could weasel our way into Buddie canon in the next season or two (and as much as I would like it to happen sooner or later, I think it would take 1-2 more seasons for it to actually happen based solely on where they are right now. I mean, they're a slowburn and are meant to be a slowburn. Their feelings realization? Yeah, that's going to be at least a half a season on its own, another half season for both confessions, followed by us starting the season after that with them tip-toeing around each other because they don't want to fuck things up but they're just so in love and I think 1.3 seasons is about when we'll get Buddie canon. Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk).

Note: I would still love to see the Bobby-in-a-government-facility Theory come true, but this is just where I'm at right now!

[therewasanerroroooops]

random headcanon I have about Percy and Annabeth (idk some might be borrowed) mostly of Percy becisse I’m thinking about him rn

. ok so Percy and annabeth genuinely love strategy games - like chess or monopoly or uno or whatever like if there is any thought out behind the game they WILL play it - and they WILL have an audience

. they also like debate things - like that sounds obvious but whatever I mean in the way that one will mention something like an idea or a philosophy abd they’ll just … like debate it (has this ever been used by campers who ask them deep questions mainly for the for and against (idk it’s something we had to real how to do and we did genuinely sometimes do thsi)

. their both genuinely unironically beautiful but also so uncanny (unnerving) like people will stopping on the street to look at them or they’ll just have this intense urge to draw them ALSO I saw this other post sometime ago that mentioned another post that I can’t find about annabeth being conventionally beautiful and Percy being unconventionally beautiful and I’ve adopted it

They both like to get each other random things that remind them of each other like Percy will get her earrings or charms for her braids and annabeth will make/steal things for him to (I’m so sorry I’m not thr best at thinking if gifts)

Annabeth is the extroverted and Percy is definitely the introvert (annabeth is also a party girl but idk if we’re ready for that discussion)

Annabeth has like 5 pairs of earrings in her ears and a nose stud - Percy has some ear peirxings as well

annabeth also genuinely enjoys being feminine - lkke maybe she always show it but she likes trying different makeup and outfits and hairstyles becisse like I think we should let more badass female characters also be feminine

They both love animals I know canon has them brig as dog people but I personally see them as being cat people

Percy wears a lot of red - like probably burgundy and maroon

Annabeth ends up wearing a lot of pastels but will have equal amounts of outfits in eachcc c I’m out (she lived wearing neon orange from 7-12 let her have colour)

both have extensive hair care routines

Annabeth is messy af like everything’s mostly clean it’s just everywhere - and she does not care about looking presentable when she’s at home or busy

Percy hates being in dirty spaces (like more than typically expect) - this is an affect from smelly gabe cause like the man wa so unhygienic that it because Percy’a main descriptor for him - and will conversely refuse to stay anywhere dirty without trying to clean it or being uncomfortable. (This is me blatantly ignoring canon) but his cabin is one of the cleanest in camp

I also think that he’s very meticulous about people being in space and moving things around particularly when he’s not around (again linked to gabe and how he used to overtake his room when he wasn’t there)

The Athena cabin basically adopted him in the way that he’s always here with Annabeth and he kills spiders for them

He’s also close to the Aphrodite cabin because I love them and I think he needs people to gossip with. Like I just love the idea of them all being friends and like randomly giving asking for advice. Him and drew are close specifically and they just insult each other but also he gets her feelings about Selena even if he doesn’t specificly agree

Also I’m just ignoring canon on thsi becisse I think his fatal flaw is control (I don’t think I’ll explain this well but various other such as Posally have long really effective posts about this. I think Athena told him it was loyalty as that was the flaw that was the most fatal to the gods

I have this whole thing in my head about Mount St Helens that would be more of a character study but basically Percy has the burns from the explosion (becisse even magic can only heal so much) and he wears long sleeve and when Annabeth notices after a few days when he returns form the island and tries tj touch them (like his wrist) and he doesn’t let her and she feels guilty because she thinks he’s blaming her but then he just doesn’t want to acknowledge the burns and also feels responsible for guilt and grief becisse it was his plan that led to it and then you factor in the kiss… (if you r to know her inspiration for this then look at basicky anything by Ahecen on ao3 because they just get it. I also think this just leads to so much potential

She absolutely used the fact that she was taller than Percy and also like a month older constantly

Connabeth and jealous Percy

also Percy is surprisingly good at fixing things around he house cause if when he was young bury couldn’t afford to hire someone every times something was wrong - also he do basic things to a car

He’s actually really good with languages like we already know about Ancient Greek and him being fast at Latin but I have also decided he know a passable about of Italian from Gabe and also Spanish and (possibly) Arabic from Sally . I also think he has a really good vocabulary becisse Sally Jackson with her dreams to be an author wouod try to drill it into him that a good vocabulary makes you seem smart and that makes people take you seriously - something so important to both of them as being underprivileged people of colour

Speaking about Sally I don’t think her and Percy’s relationship is perfect like I imagine it’s more that both are incredibly traumatised from the 10 years with Gabe (which is a whole sepperate can of worms about autonomy and guilt and responsibility) and neither want to ciase the other pain by bringing it up and THERES just so much more to unpack - I think we should explore Sally being selfish more like please I need her to be her but also have flaws I also really want to explore aspects of her that Percy doesn’t mention both becisse of their relationship abd because he doesn’t acknowledge them

I also like to think that Percy being as manipulative and cunning as he is got that from Sally like THERES genuinely times when she cannot tell if he’s lying about his demigod life and she hates it but she’s also aware that it’s a clear sign of him being her son as well as his fathers (they also both Love anytime anyone mentions them two being similar)

also like when he was younger did he think he was schizophrenic from seeing all the monsters - like I feel like that has to come up at some point both for him and all the other demigods and also the mortals with the sight

Percy abd Sally genuinely have identical mannerisms and expressions like you can tell them both a story at completely different times and they react almost identically

(idk what this is but I had a dream where Sally wasn’t sallys birth name and it was like Rania but then she immigres to I think Brazil and changed it to Rosalia then I think it was some brother or friend who also Immigrated and called her salia (emphasise the first syllable) and that changed to Sally when she came to rhe us But I’m not entirely sure about it yet)

Sally is 5,6 idk why she just is

Sally has also lived an incredibly interesting life and shoudl have a book series dedicated to her - like her teenage years were not her being sweet and at home like she had issues and she was partying (this might say something about me making to many party girl character but idk) - she can also run in heels and has broken her ankle like 8 times

Percy might end up drinking when he’s older (not like getting shitfaced) but never beer - this is becisse I like the angst this would cause as being a coping mechanism also no cheap cigarettes - it’s so random and he kind of hates that this is true but he actually kind of likes the smell of good quality Tabasco and once stole a pack from Rachel’s

So he and Annabeth did end up going to new Rome for lkke a bit but they hated it and moved back to New York the year after - I also think they ended up breaking up for a bit like 3 years so that the first year was them trying to actually maintain the breakup becisse when they were together they weren’t happy or well or good for the other then the second and third is them axtually broken up and maybe seeing other people abd the third is them back to being friends then they slowly start drifting back together

I also think Selena and beckendorf breakup and work thought some things before getting back together because I love them and thonk they should suffer

Percy Thalia Nico (Hazel) chaos like genuinely so much chaos it’s wonderful

If you want know anything about what I think about the big three kids together you should look at ofswordandpen basically all her takes are right and have a visceral affect on me)

the demigods also all sometimes get completely overwhelmed by their powers and just … crash like they want to have a break but they cant becisse theirs air snd sky everywhere and THERES ground and resting places everywhere and water in some shape or form everywhere

Percy isnt on the swim team and hates public pools are unhygienic and the chlorine burns however I do still think he plays sport - mainly whatever’s on rotation but he does prefer basketball and football (soccer)

Both Percy and Annabeth end up getting tattoos for each other - I like to think Annabeth has two one being the constellation and Percy has a main one and a few others that privately homage (one of which includes a butterfly knife)

I’m feeling hopful so ive despises that eventually Annabeth and Athena become less estranged and though they’ll never have a normal mother daughter born they do respect one another I also think evnetially Athena will acknowledge that Percy is more than his fathers son and may acknowledge his good traits (that she cares about - so the ones related to cunning and war and leadership)

I also think the Athena Posideion thibg is different than in canon becisse even the myths have them working on the same side of the Trojan war and also I believe she has an epethet that implies she invented the bridal for the horse and the chariot so yea

I also headcanon that children of the big three all have different powers and limitations and some empty characteristics no longer associated with their parents - there has been at least one child of Poseidon (who died after the oath to site no more children was made) whose power is knowledge / prophesy like she has visions of thr past and the future - thats why Percy does as well though to a lesser extent to her) and theres a whole deep reason why she can see the past ands it’s linked to evaporation and other things, like it’s really strong though if you ask her state anything about the past she will answer ironically her names Urania - she’s also really sweet and kind of lost in the clouds

Percy is great at cooking and he’s also really good at inventing dishes or combinations that just work Annabeth is not a disaster in the kitchen but she’s so so good at baking

This is not a headcanon but a fact - he and Annabeth both knew they liked each other during botl and the summer between then and tlo was the most complicated time ever and it was just so angst and sad and tragedy and arguments and just skndjsjsn

I also think Percy is good at understanding conscepts from school and applying them LIEK he might be failing Chem but he’ll be able explain it well enough that someone else will get an A just from his explainatiln idk how to explain this tho

he has an eyebrow scar

I think Annabeth should have like rings like stacked rings becisse their hot af

Annabeth is 5,10 and Percy is 6,2 because they deserve to be tall - I do think Percy was really short before his growth spurt becisse malnutrition thr ambrosia eventually helped

Thalia is exactly 4,11 - she wears platforms to combat this - nico tries to use her as an arm rest at least once per interaction (so Percy is using him and he’s using her and they’re like trying to stab each other until sudden acceptance)

Annabeth really likes art and is unfairly amazing good at sketching her and Rachel bond over it. She can also draw a circle freehand

Annabeth has a southern accent and it’s adorable she’ll also sometimes mirror hazel and use certain vernacular and gestures and stuff from the south - obviously different cause I don’t think Virginia ajd new orleans are the same

Percy is the biggest coffee snob also music but mainly coffee this is becisse Sally used to give him coffee becisse the adhd meds were to expensive

I’m not that good at describing voices but I think Percy’s is like incredibly deep and sort of raspy?

Thsi is me shamelesslyprojecting - but annabeths favourite Disney movie is lilo and stitch but she does like some of the Disney princess films - tangled (cause it’s the best) princess and the frog (just like top tier and like fufuollig your dreams and it has was a fundamental part of my childhood ) also possibly the literal mermaid becisse lkke the sea as a metaphor for camp and her wanting freedom in the form of a quest honesty idk

Sally would have a watched Cinderella as a child I can’t even explain

Percy - I honestly don’t know like I would love your ideas (I’m so sorry but not the little mermaid)

Annabeth and chunky headphones

Ive seen another interesting angle to explore being not sure how best to write thsi next one becisse it’s dealing with quite significant and often misrepresented themselves so I’ll by best but I recently saw the headcanon of Clarissa having ASPD (antisocial personality disorder) - which does fit into many of her existing moments quite well abd Percy having BPD (borderline personality disorder) and also other characters having other psychological disorders - I saw both these on the blog if Rueguard and I think they analyse and explain these better than j could

Also all the demigods suffer from different conditions due to their godly parent loek Athena children will sometimes have debilitating migraines ares kids sometimes feel incredibly frail (I’m so sorry but I genuinely cant think of a better term lkke possibly weak) Apollo kids will sometimes temporary lose their vision or have it weakens Demeter kids sometimes get incredibly temkretute disregusktion Hermes kids sometimes suffer intense fatigue Percy sometimes having really intense hand tremors these obviously vary and mgiht be different but thsi so the general dies

I also think the gods shoudl have been different thats a general complaint of the source material - like they shoudl have been terrifying or scary and have it juxtaposed by some of the interactions and like Hera shoudl have been allowed to have more nuance like she’s the goddess of family and motherhood and thats complicated and she has more than her anger and ares shoudl have been allowed to maintain his feminism - loek he created the amazons and I would have changed he abuse implication slightly and Aphrodite shoudl havr had more respect lkke love why would they have dismissed that like Demeter shoudl not have been a cereal obsessed caracture Zeus shoudl have shown justice more often lkke there was so much potential… also on ao3 read read far to young to hold a sword

Anyway thats the end like I might add more but I can’t remember any right now also like my autocorrect hates me so I’m sorry and please engage like I want to know your thoughts

p

[ofdragonsdeep]

6: Halcyon

A fabled bird.

In the midst of trying to stop Athena, Ar'telan has a question for Lahabrea's shade.

In the shallowest reaches of the aetherial sea, Ar'telan beheld a ghost.

They were not ghosts in the way that the souls that drifted by were ghosts. Oh, they were dead, but this was far, far worse than a meeting with the departed.

Athena had created them on a whim. Ar'telan did not pretend to understand why she did what she did, only knew that it was abhorrent to him in every incarnation. She wanted him to find her, he thought, and this was a way to help.

It was likely she hadn't even considered that it would hurt.

The researchers had kept their distance from Lahabrea, but despite Erichthonios's uncanny resemblence to Claudien, they were happy enough to speak with him about the nature of the issue they faced. Erichthonios had not been a scholar in life - a phrase that hurt, knowing he could step through time and see him living, if only for a fleeting moment - but he still knew a great deal about this.

Lahabrea stared at him.

He should have left long before this, of course. He had never had a conversation with Lahabrea that did not end in disaster, and this was not like to be the first time. This simulacrum, pasted over with a hasty coat of paint, would not have the answers Ar'telan had wanted from Lahabrea and never managed to seize. He couldn't look at him without remembering the pain that he had caused.

"I see now why you could not elaborate in Pandæmonium," he said eventually, his voice quiet, but it carried in the silence. Ar'telan took a breath that failed to calm his nerves.

"A shame that you will never truly know that."

Lahabrea nodded, his face pensieve. It was strange to see him without the immediate burdens of his role weighing on his shoulders, though given the nature of their foe, the stress was never far from him.

"You and I are both aware that I am barely a person in my current state. This form will last until the aether Athena stole to forge it fades, and she did not plan for that to take long. Yet you stare at me as if I can help you." Ar'telan fought the urge to flinch.

"You can't. I know that."

"Then leave." He folded his arms. "It is only a matter of time before Athena conjures some new horror to bar your way. You will not want for distractions."

Ar'telan hesitated. He was almost certainly right - a situation he did not like to attribute to Lahabrea, but not unusual in the grand scheme of things. But he was all that was left of Lahabrea, save for the broken shell of Hephaistos. And Hephaistos would not know anything that would help Ar'telan, so he would not burden him with the question.

"I want… an answer to a question," Ar'telan said eventually, swallowing back his nerves.

"Do you think I can give that to you?"

There was no malice in it, just a simple statement of fact. It was very like the Lahabrea he had met in Pandæmonium, and unlike the Lahabrea of his time. Of this time.

"…No. But I wanted to ask. If you do, then…" Then what? He didn't even know. The spectre of Lahabrea's fate haunted him still, how even his desperate attempts to save the ones who wanted him dead had been unable to reach the first of them he had wanted to save.

For a while, he had thought it the desperate desires of a fool. But he had saved Elidibus, after a fashion. A small fragment of him, but what else was left, after all that time broken?

Could he even weather it?

"I suppose I owe you a question," Lahabrea allowed. "Ask. But do not expect an answer."

Ar'telan supposed it was the best he would get.

"I have… something," he said. "I wanted to know if- if it meant anything." He ignored the puzzled quirk of an eyebrow Lahabrea responded with, reaching into his pocket and pulling from it the one thing he had never told anyone else about. To hold out the crystal to Lahabrea, even this recreation, felt somehow wrong to him. But he did it all the same.

Lahabrea's expression went from puzzled to a frown of concern. He reached out as if to touch it, but paused before his fingers met the crystal.

"…This is… The same substance as the Heart of Sabik," he said. It was a credit to his stoicism that he could say it without even a hint of fear in his voice, after everything the Heart had done to him. "Black auracite."

"Yes."

"Where did you get this?"

"You gave it to me."

The pause was palpable. There was no outward change to Lahabrea's expression, but there was the subtlest shift in his stance. Ar'telan knew it well for what it was, after all this time. Hesitation.

"It was a gift, I think. But I'm still not sure," he continued. "I… wanted it to be a gift. But…"

"I cannot think of any reason that I might want to give you a fragment of something so uniquely dangerous," Lahabrea said, his tone frank. "This is not the same stone as the Heart. But something lurks within it still." Ar'telan started in surprise at that, closing his hand around the stone as if Lahabrea might think to take it from him. "Do not mistake me," he said. "It is the barest wisp of essence. One of your aetheric composition would be entirely unable to detect it, much less interact with it." He frowned. "But if it was me who gave you this, and it is not the Heart, then it is not the tiniest fragment of Athena who sleeps within it. We are not enemies, but even if we were, I would not inflict her upon you so." He shook his head. "The corruption concerns me, but it is not cleansable. Why did I give this to you?" Ar'telan looked down at his closed fingers.

"…I don't know," he replied. "I thought perhaps if I showed it to you, even if you could not give me the answer, I would… figure it out from what you said. But I just have more questions now."

"I do not know if it is true in the present, but Auracite was incredibly difficult to procure in my own time," Lahabrea said. "If I truly gave you this token, I did not do so lightly. The fact that it is corrupted is… concerning, but irrelevant. Do you truly know nothing of why?"

"It's… complicated," Ar'telan replied. "I didn't think much of it at the time. Well, I… I did, but not… not in a way that mattered." Lahabrea's concerned frown did not shift. "A different question, then. If you had the Heart of Sabik when you died, would you suffer the same fate as Athena?"

"Perhaps," Lahabrea replied. "It would depend upon the manner in which I met my demise. Assuming there was naught else to trap my soul, and there was… room, within the stone, I imagine I would be similarly imprisoned." He folded his arms. "The soul over which my likeness has been written is not my own. It is not even a fragment of my own, just as Erichthonios is not his own."

If there were nothing else to trap it…

"And if it were trapped, could I get it out?" Ar'telan asked. Lahabrea sighed.

"Perhaps," he repeated. "Extracting a soul from a prison not designed for such a thing is rarely a clean experience. And depending upon the manner of my death, I suspect it would be kinder to release my spirit to the aetherial sea, rather than attempt extraction." Ar'telan grimaced at how easily he could speak of his own death. "There is much you have not told me, this is plain," he added. "But you know me. For it to be me that you know, in this present, then I have been alive far longer than man is meant to live before his return to the star. If you truly seek to recover this… present incarnation of me from a supposed prison, I cannot guarantee that he will much resemble me." He paused. "Though I suspect you know this already, given your actions in Pandæmonium."

"…Yes," Ar'telan replied.

"I would tell you not to attempt anything rash, but you are a shard of Azem. No matter how diminished your soul, I suspect their capacity for utter stupidity that still somehow does nothave consequences has carried over," Lahabrea remarked. Ar'telan sighed.

"If only there were no consequences," he said, "but thank you. I will… I will get help before I do something stupid."

It was a promise he might even keep.

---

It was only when the dust had settled that Ar'telan had the time to think about the question he had asked.

He sat in his room at the Rising Stones, crystal in his hand. For so long he had held on to it, long after the hope of Lahabrea speaking to him about all that had happened had died. He had been so scared, back then. Even now, having sorted through the feelings, having learned so much about the Ascians - about the Ancients - he still didn't understand it, not really.

He had seen the memory, just like everyone else in Pandæmonium. Lahabrea had searched so desperately for love that he had damned himself, and found nothing. He had cut out his passion in Hephaistos, but he could never cut out his heart. It had been a long time - millenia of waiting, of fighting, of endless hosts and exposure to the stone that held the woman who had hurt him the most. It was no wonder that Lahabrea did not remember him, being a mere footnote in the story of Pandæmonium as he had been, but…

Elidibus had held on to something. Something of Azem, yes, but something of him, too. And Elidibus had been broken beyond belief by his death and subsequent rebirth. Surely Lahabrea would have rememebered something. If not him, surely he would have held on to the fact that nothing hurt more than looking for love and finding none where it should have been promised.

Lahabrea had acknowledged his part as the villain, though. He had admitted he would do it, if the need arose, even if that had been an untempered memory. Ar'telan thought about the stories Erichthonios had told him, in explaining the Phoinix, of Lahabrea's search for the bird of eternal life. Of Suzaku, an auspice and phoenix both, that proved his success.

What drove him? What had driven him then? Did Ar'telan even have the right to think of finding that ragged soul and begging answers of it one last time?

He did not like to think what it would do to him if he did not like the answer. But he owed it to him to look, if only to grant him the peace of a death not tainted by what had happened in the Singularity Reactor.

He would find it, somehow. If nothing else, even what was left of Lahabrea would find the parallels amusing.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Ara has never done anything wrong in her entire life idk what you mean -Danny Words: 2,112 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'As The World Caves In' -by Sarah Cothran

LXI: Back by Unpopular Demand: Me

"You won't stay."

"But—"

"Ara, if I have to throw you overboard I will!" Leo frowns.

Ara's eyes brim with tears. "We can't even have a proper goodbye..."

"There is no goodbye in this," Leo gestures at Frank. "Hey! Make sure to take her with you!"

"Leo!"

"We don't have time for this," he insists, also holding back tears.

"HOLD ON!" Zeus warns them, getting ready to toss them out.

Ara doesn't even get to take one last look at Athens before the sky flickers and changes at the speed of light.

"Jason!" Leo screams. "Hurry!"

Everything around breaks and flies off the deck, Ara unclasps her harness and watches Frank and Hazel as they try to get closer.

"Go!" Leo urges her. "Go, go, go!"

"LET'S GO! MOVE IT! CUT THAT OUT!" Bufford keeps screaming. 

It isn't wise to distract him while he's desperately trying to keep the ship in one piece, but love blurs all her coherent thoughts. "Leo..." she turns to him, trying one last time.

"Leave!" He screams with an anger she's never heard before.

Frank rises off the deck as a dragon with Percy, Annabeth, and Hazel on his back, Ara sees him fly in her direction ready to seize her. "Fine!" She yells at her boyfriend. "Leónidas Valdez if you don't survive this, I'll kill you!"

Leo laughs. "I love you!"

Frank's claw hooks on her cloak and pulls her out of there. As they fly down to the hill where the Athena Parthenos is standing, Jason catches up to them and starts giving instructions. "Hazel! Those three cohorts are in trouble! If they don't merge with the rest of the demigods—"

"On it! Go, Frank!"

"Drop me there!" Ara spots a familiar shape in the mob. "Jason, Piper, you come with me!"

"Alright, General!" Jason responds. Frank flies past the hill and opens his claw. 

Ara lands on top of Pollo the Nemean lion, and slits a monster's throat with her crossbow. On each side of her Piper and Jason land and draw out their swords. The monster dissolves and she glares at the army before her, pulling the lion's mane so he stops running.

"Who missed me?" Ara smirks at the monsters that are quickly scattering away from her.

"About time!" Reyna says over the cheering of demigods. "Glad you could join us!"

Piper smiles. "We had some giants to kill!"

"Excellent! Help yourself to some barbarians."

"Why, thank you!"

"General Jackson!" Nico slashes a monster without paying much attention. He looks pale and barely alive. "Good timing. Where's the ship?"

Jason and Ara look up, the girl feeling a bit faint when she sees the wreckage the Argo II has turned into.

"Gods," Nico makes a face. "Is everyone okay?"

"Leo..." Jason says weakly. "His plan is in motion."

Nico nods, locking eyes with her. "He'll be fine."

"Of course," she pushes back her fear to focus on the fight.

"But just in case... For Leo."

"For Leo," Jason looks at Ara and nods.

"Where is Octavian?" Ara demands out loud, slashing through the monsters like they're cardboard figures, guiding Pollo with only one hand. "I wanna give him a proper send-off!"

"Ara?!" Connor Stoll looks at her with his mouth wide open. "When Lily said you looked different, I thought she meant sunburned!"

Ara pulls the lion's mane so it comes to a halt once more. She smiles down at her friend. "You're here, that means Saggio is close. Where?"

Connor opens his mouth to respond but Frank's voice cuts through. "Repellere equites!"

"Ave, Praetor Zhang!" Reyna greets him.

"Ave, Praetor Ramírez-Arellano!" He responds. "Let's do this. Legion, CLOSE RANKS!"

"Legion, cuneum formate!" Reyna yells. "Advance!"

"Hey, Birdy!" Percy calls behind her. " Lost something?"

The army of Greeks goes wild the moment they spot him and Annabeth. Lily Saggio is with them.

"Strategus!" Her eyes are fierce, but they seem happy. "Your armies wait for instruction!"

Ara feels ten times stronger at the moment. She turns Pollo to face the girl. "Brigadier Saggio, you see the monsters?"

"Yes, General."

Ara unsheats Lily's dagger and tosses it back to her. "I want them all dead."

"Let's kill stuff!" Percy shouts with enthusiasm.

Everyone gathers around Ara and charges into battle. Ara notices Nico and Will Solace sneaking to the opposite side of where the fight is happening, she looks further ahead and sees where they're going, a dark grin forming on her face. 

She turns to Annabeth and Lily. "Take the lead on this group."

"Yes, General," Lily lifts her dagger. "Let's go!"

Ara has barely slipped off Pollo's back when the ground shakes, and she looks up to see a gigantic mount of dirt emerge from the mud. "AWAKE," Gaea growls. "Little fools. The paltry magic of your statue cannot contain me."

"Bitch," Ara curses, glaring at the mighty woman before turning around and following Nico's trace, which isn't hard because the ground seems to be dying wherever he sets foot.

"The whole earth is my body," Gaia boomed. "How would you fight the goddess of—"

FOOOOMP!

Ara stops and gasps. Festus just tackled Gaea, and there, confidently seated on his back, is Leo. "Pipes! Jason! You coming? The fight is up here!"

"Gods, I wanna marry him," she whispers in joy.

Ara.

The girl gives a start and looks around, but no one there seems to be paying her attention. She frowns, maybe she heard wrong. The girl quickly forgets about it when her eyes land on Nico and Will, both standing next to an onager. She looks at Gaea with a smile.

"I should give her a proper send-off..."

"Octavian, get away from the onager—That isn't safe!"

"Of course it's not! I will shoot Gaia down with this machine!" Will and Nico are facing Octavian, who is wearing the most dreadful assessment of jewelry she's ever seen. 

The sky darkens when Jason and Piper fly up to meet Leo, a storm cooks above their heads as Jason gathers all his power.

"You see?" Octavian continues frantically. Ara thinks she might be hallucinating, but his skin seems to be smoking. "The gods approve of my actions!"

"Jason is making that storm," Nico points out with annoyance. "If you fire the onager, you'll kill him and Piper, and—"

"Good! They're traitors! All traitors!"

"Listen to me," Will presses. "This is not what Apollo would want. Besides, your robes are—"

"You know nothing, Graecus!" Octavian reaches for the lever. "I must act before they get any higher. Only an onager such as this can make the shot. I will singlehandedly—"

"Centurion," a new guy appears, tall and buff. 

Ara recognizes him from Frank's stories, he's a son of Venus—something like a half-brother to Ara but not quite like the ones from Aphrodite. Ara's eyes travel down Octavian's clothes. She gets a pleasant thrill down her spine when she gets a very horrific idea.

"Michael! Excellent!" Octavian squeals, making her skin crawl. "Guard me while I fire this onager. Then we will kill these Graeci together!"

Ara gets to work in silence, pulling his cloak further into the mechanism. She hates this guy like she's never hated anyone before, he brought all these monsters to her camp, terrorized her family for weeks and weeks, and paraded around wearing that atrocity of an outfit. He's insulted her in every possible way.

Out of the corner of her eye, she thinks she sees Nemesis, perhaps she was the one who guided her here, but Ara refuses to acknowledge her. She gets up and circles the onager. "Michael Kahale, isn't it?"

The boy looks at her, his posture stiffening. "Strategus."

Ara smiles. "At ease, soldier. Let me talk to your Centurion."

"General," Michael nods, stepping back.

Octavian might've jumped over every rank from the Roman army, but he can't jump Ara, above her there are only gods, and even for him, that would be too much.

"No!" Octavian squeaks out in anger. "I'm your superior, you idiot! You don't listen to her!"

"You and your army, and your army's parents answer to me, Octavian." She speaks sternly, having perfected that voice after a whole year of practice. "You've caused destruction and death. You will yield, or face the consequences."

"NEVER!" He spits, eyes wide and crazy. "I will be remembered as the savior of Rome!"

"Apollo hates you, you psychotic jerk," Ara presses. "Yield or I'll make sure you never stir trouble for any of my camps ever again."

"Octavian..." Will tries to intervene, but Nico pulls him back.

"Our General is talking."

Ara knows he saw her pull the cloak inside the mechanism, she sees the way he looks at her: displeased but determined to stand by her.

"Liars, tricksters til the last minute," Octavian's hands hold onto the lever. "You cannot defeat me."

Ara sighs. "Octavian, I could snap you in half like a twig... but I'd rather put you to better use."

The girl pretends she's about to attack Octavian and he screams, cutting the rope that's keeping the onager's lever in place. The ammunition flies up with Octavian's cloak firmly tucked in by her, and Ara feels zero remorse as the guy disappears into the storm.

Her eyes find the other ball of fire in the sky that is Festus, and both explosions reach Gaia at the same time, making her stomach churn with apprehension. Next to her, Michael Kahale speaks. 

"Goodbye, Octavian." He turns to her. "What are our orders, General?"

The storm swallows the explosions for a moment but the fire gains force, vaporizing everything in the sky, not just Gaia, but also Leo and Festus.

Ara's vision starts to darken. "Cease fire."

Will catches her, and the girl faints without saying another word.

Ara spends two days in what can be considered an actual comma, when she wakes up she's damp with cold sweat and it takes her a full minute to recognize the room, then she realizes she's in the Big House, and someone is next to her napping.

"Will," she says hoarsely, barely able to open her mouth. "Will Solace!"

The boy drops his clipboard, quickly scrambling to his feet. "Ara! Thank Apollo, you're awake!"

"I won't be thanking Apollo for anything in the next few months," Ara groans, trying and failing to rub her eyes. "What day is it?"

"It's been three years, everyone went off to college but I volunteered to look after you this summer."

"Ha ha," she replies, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Gods, I feel like crap. What happened?"

"You've been asleep for two days—well, a day and a half, technically. I couldn't bring down the fever, we even submerged you in a bathtub full of ice. It was crazy Ara, you were—"

"Burning alive," she starts coming to her senses. "Will, the campers—"

"We had losses," he tells her, pressing a wet cloth on her forehead. "But not as bad as last time..."

Ara's pulse picks up again as she asks the next thing. "What about the people in the storm?"

Will turns the cloth over, Ara's temperature still warming up the material too fast. "Jason and Piper came down seconds before the explosion but Leo... Cabin Nine spent the whole day picking up bits and pieces of the Argo II, but there was no sign of Festus."

Ara closes her eyes. "Yes, that was the plan."

"No, Ara," Will sighs, not understanding. "The explosion was massive. There was nothing left because the fire destroyed everything."

"I need Nico," she says dryly. "Please, tell me he's around here still."

"He's been following Lily and Connor around like a guard dog ever since—"

"Take me to him," Ara tries to sit up but the world turns upside down and she falls sideways. "Or tell him to come," she says in a strangled voice. Will doesn't try to fight her, he knows arguing is useless. "Don't tell anyone else I'm awake yet," she adds quickly. "I need a moment, then we can handle the funerary—"

"We did that already," Will eases her. "Nico and Chiron did it. Lily and Clarisse have taken care of the rest... I saw your cloak, you got like five blessings in two months," the boy shakes his head in disbelief. "I'm surprised your body didn't melt."

She gulps. "Please, bring Nico."

"Did he die?"

Nico takes a seat next to her bed. "He died. Hazel and I felt it. And then..."

Ara sits up at his pause, feeling anxious. "I need to know."

"Well, we sort of... lost track of him. One minute his soul was there, and then... don't know, it was nowhere to be found."

"Festus had the physician's cure."

"We all saw Festus explode."

"You didn't find pieces."

"The explosion was too strong," Nico frowns. "And you threw a ball of fire at him for good measure, remember?"

"He made it out."

"You can't know that."

"You don't know the opposite," Ara argues. "He needed to survive to break the curse. You say he's not in the Underworld, and judging by how I'm feeling, my body's purging centuries of disease."

Nico stares at her. "...I'd like to believe you."

"Then believe me," Ara says earnestly. "It's better than the alternative."

He gets up and gestures at her closet. "Get dressed, everyone will feel better if you show your face at today's campfire."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[imapuppy5000]

A story with the guard squad!! Vlk, Orion, and Athena belong to me. Everyone else belongs to one of these amazing people

@tamberwoof @theacedragon0w0 @mirconreadzztuff22 and y’all please give me the tags of everyone else

It was movie night and the guard squad had just settled down for their movie. It was Athena’s turn to pick so of course they were watching the rom-yist com there was. But suddenly disaster struck, they realized they had no snacks and NO POPCORN. The horror!

Vlk, never one for cheesy movies, piped up and soothed the group's panic and grief with a few simple words, “I’ll go get snacks. You can start the movie without me.”

“You’d do that?” Athena asked, “and we can just wait for you to get back— you don’t have to miss any of the movie.”

“It’s fine. You guys watch and I’ll be back in a giffy with lots of snack for everyone.” She pulled out her phone and went to her notes app to make sure she had everyone’s food preferences written down. She did. “Alright, bye.”

But before she could leave Sage stopped her, “Wait! Take Orion with you.”

“What?” Vlk growled darkly and Orion yelped.

“You’re safer in pairs. Please? It would make me feel better about you going out alone at night.”

“I can handle myself.” Vlk huffed but didn’t fight. “Come on Orion, let’s be quick.”

The hound growled but Athena urged him on and he padded after Vlk stoically.

“You have a car?” Vlk asked as they left the building.

“Nope.”

“Ah. Then unfortunately we’re stuck together for a bit.”

Orion lifted a brow but didn’t really express anything beyond that so Vlk crossed her arms and walked in silence.

Ten minutes later she was dying. She always had to have some kind of noise or else she got stuck in her thoughts and went mad. Finally she couldn’t take it and blurted, “Why don’t you talk?!”

Orion gave her a quizzical look and shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face.

“No- no don’t do that! Why don’t you just— urg— rant to me about your day or something?!” Another shrug and Vlk stopped in front of her companion, forcing him into a halt as well. “Please. I never ask you for anything. Just… tell me something. Talk at me.”

Orion studied her face for a moment and decided she wasn’t desperate enough. “Grovel.” He growled deeply.

“Seriously? This is why I hate you.” She poked her finger into his chest and decided to walk without noise. Another five minutes and her teeth were clenching. Thoughts of her parents were circling her head like vultures. She needed a distraction and it just slipped out, ever so weakly, “Please.”

“What?” His ear perked and he turned his attention on the dejected fox.

“Please.. please talk to me. I really can’t stand the silence.”

“More.”

“What more do you want?!”

“Get on your knees and beg.”

Vlk sneered and then jeered back, “You do like to see me on my knees, don’t you?”

Orion blushed and snarled, “Do it.”

She rolled her eyes but got on her knees and held her hands tightly, “Please, sir. Talk to me.”

“Fine. But you don’t get to talk the rest of the trip.”

Vlk nodded, fine with not having to talk and being able to just listen.

And so the rest of the walk to the store was peaceful, Orion chattering on about his day and ranting about Jasmine, saying a few things about Athena that were interesting to say the least, and just rambling. It was comforting and kept Vlk’s mind off of everything else.

At the convenience store she sent Orion to the movie theater down the street to pick up a few large bags of popcorn, extra butter, and nacho cheese dip (a specialty item for Sage, and no Vlk was not showing favoritism).

Four bags of jerky, one for Vlk, one for Iris, two for Xana. Vlk wasn’t a fan of Iris’s favorite snack but she would buy it if the store had it. Unfortunately, they were outside of cannibal town so pinky’s were harder to score. Vlk couldn’t really understand that liking. She had tried human flesh once and it wasn’t great but something as lean as the pinky seemed just terrible.

Regardless she continued on her search.

Nutter Butter’s and P.B Bites for Hazel.

Sage got hot fries, seasoned mango’s, and some Red hots.

Sydney got chewy chips ahoy.

Athena’s snacks of choice were skittles and airhead belts. She had a major sweet tooth so Vlk also got her a bag of powdered donuts.

Finally was Orion. Vlk got him black licorice.

After everyone’s individual snacks had been collected it was time for drinks. A case of Dr. Pepper (Vlk’s favorite), Root beer, and Fanta added to the list. Unable to hold everything properly the Fox stumbled to the counter and dropped her load onto it, looking over the pile at the clerk. Poor guy looked like he wanted to roll over and die.

Checking out took a long time, by the time she was done Orion was waiting outside with the popcorn. She did not expect the bags to be as large as there were, roughly the size of a toddler, and hadn’t expected Orion to buy 5 if they were that big. But here he was, all five giant bags tied together and slung over his shoulder while he carried a bucket of butter in his other hand.

“Where’s the cheese dip?”

“In one of the popcorn bags.”

She nodded and they left back to the tower. Needless to say, everyone was shocked and pleasantly surprised when they returned with enough food to feed an army.

[gaysindistress]

Sad girl - eighteen

summary: James has an interesting new business proposal and one hell of a condition to deal with.

pairing: Mob!Bucky Barnes x Reader

warnings: cursing, Bucky’s smartass, angst, guns, violence, Walker has decided that he wants to be Joe Goldberg

word count: 2.2k

a/n: there are some POV shifts in this part but I tried to make it obvious with dividers so it wasn’t too confusing. Anyways, there’s one part left!

part 17 | series masterlist

Taglist: @missvelvetsstuff @angelsincident @spencerreidisagorgman @goldensunflowe-r   @i-have-no-life-charlie @esposadomd @iateall-yourcookies  @littlelizardlizzie @alana4610 @kandis-mom @beware-my-thorns @ozwriterchick @reader-without-a-story @unaxv @wh0reforbucknasty @cjand10  @vickie5446 @katymae12344 @openup-yourmind @callsign-athena

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on google/Pinterest

The Stark Estate is always the looming house on the hill as the SUV approaches the large iron gates. The brick mansion is mostly covered in vines and plants, much to Pepper’s dismay. Anthony thought it gave the 20s-built house character and a homey feel so the vines were left along with the ridiculous amount of landscaping that lined the driveway. Bucky resists the urge to roll his eyes at the blatant display of wealth as the SUV rolls down the driveway to the main house. Scott is the one to meet the men, standing with his arms crossed in front of him. The SUV slows to a stop beside him and Bucky gets out of the driver’s seat. 

“The others in position,” Scott asks him as Bucky adjusts his black jean jacket to conceal his holster and gun better. 

“Yep, yours?”

Scott nods while the two walk into the house. While Pepper may not have any say about the outside, she took full advantage of changing every little detail inside to fit her taste. White and marble covered every inch of the 20,000 square foot home, a stark difference from the industrial and wood feel of Bucky’s house. It reeked of cold indifference as they walked up the same stairs Doll nearly cracked with anger that day. Scott pushes open the heavy doors, letting the other man enter the room first. 

As usual, Anthony is seated at his desk however without his normal crowd of men in black. Thor and Loki are reclining on the couches, guns completely on display due to their relaxed posture. A younger man, who he assumes is the new recruit Peter Parker is standing off to the side of Anthony. 

“You brought a kid?” Bucky tries to hide the disgust in their voice when he sits in the same chair he had during that meeting. 

“He’s not a kid and you didn’t bother to dress for the occasion,” Anthony, however, doesn’t even bother to cover his disapproval at Bucky’s outfit. 

Leveling a blank stare at the other man, he speaks again “We’re not here to do business.”

Anthony rolls his eyes dramatically, making a show of it as he gestures to Scott to come over. He says something about the ETA of John to which Scott tells him he’s at the gates before leaving the room. 

“What’s the status of your team?” He turns to his son-in-law. 

“Waiting for my cue.”

“Good good. How about my daughter?”

“Safe.”

“Wow, I forgot how quiet you are,”  he widens his eyes in annoyance, “Anyways when John gets here, I don’t want you to speak. Let me handle it and if I need you to step in, I’ll let you know.”

“Fine by me,” a hardened expression takes on his face as he rests his hands together in between his spread legs. 

John’s voice echoes up the marble staircase as Bucky’s phone rings. 

“Buck we have a problem.”

Nat had promised Doll that his meeting would only last a couple of hours and that it was just a business meeting. 

“I swear it’s just a meeting that’s all.”

“He took his gun,” Doll is trying not to panic, however with his injury and their developing closeness, it’s getting harder and harder to stop it. 

“He takes it everywhere.”

“But this is different, I can feel it. He didn’t tell me where he was going and he always tells me.”

Nat takes her by the shoulders and stops her pacing, “Do you really want to know?”

She pushes the other woman’s hands off of her, “Obviously.”

“If I tell you, will you promise to stay here until he gets back?” she demands as she sits down on the living room couch. 

Doll takes a seat as well while nodding her head. 

“He set up a meeting with John at your dad’s house to get him to cut his bullshit and to get your mom. Steve and Sam are headed in to get her as we speak.”

“Natasha what the fuck?” she jumps off the couch, yelling at Nat, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew this is how you were going to react. Now sit your ass back down. They’re going to be back in like an hour.”

Doll’s phone goes off, the ringtone specifically set for Morgan and she answers it in confusion, “Hey Mo Mo, what’s up?”

“Sissy help! He’s hurting everyone,” Morgan’s small voice is full of terror as she whispers into the phone. 

“Mo Mo what’s going on?”

“John, he's hurting everyone. Sissy, please help!”

She looks at Nat with frightened eyes, “Where are you? Are you hiding?”

“I’m hiding in Daddy’s closet,” she cries into the phone. 

She gestures to Nat to stand up as she holds the phone between her head and shoulder, “Okay Mo Mo, stay there and don’t make a sound okay? Do not open the door unless it’s Daddy, Mommy, or Scott. I’m coming.” 

Hastily shoving her feet into her torn vans, she throws a pair of keys to Nat and points to the door, “Start the car and call Bucky. Shit is going down.”

“Buck we have a problem.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“She’s not here.”

“What do you mean she’s not there?” 

Sam shutters from the other line, “The woman we saw isn’t her. She says she’s a housekeeper and that Walker forced her to dress up as Marianne and stay in her room until he came and got her.”

“Fuck, get out and get over here,” Bucky hangs up the phone as John bursts into the room dragging the woman in question beside him. Blood is dripping from her eyebrow and her lip no doubt from where he hit her. Bruises are starting to form on her face and arms as she drops to the floor when John lets go of her arm. Thor and Loki jump to their feet, guns drawn and pointed at the man. 

“Gentlemen! What a lovely fucking surprise,” he exclaims, holding Marianne by the hair, “Imagine my surprise when Scott here told me that I was being set up and I found your two buddies lurking around my house.”

Anthony stands but the sudden movement is not welcomed by the furious man and he pulls his own gun on the woman beside him.  

“Sit down or I’ll shoot sweet Marianne,” the threat causes her to start crying and begging for her life as she claws at the hand holding her hair, “Shut the fuck up.”

Anthony does as he’s told and sits down. Bucky’s chest rises and falls at a steady pace, the soldier and mercenary in him remaining calm even when the room is up in arms. He rubs his eyebrow in mild annoyance that the meeting went south so quickly. He expected that this would happen, just not so quickly. Scott, on the other hand, is frozen by the door after being caught double-crossing his boss. 

“Thor and Loki sit,” John demands of the two brothers. 

Thor glances back to Anthony who gives him a nod and a dismissive wave. A shot rings out and is followed by a thud. Bucky glances over his shoulder to see that Scott is the one hit. Footsteps and shuffling are heard from behind him as the two brothers collect the body and take it out of the room. Looking forward again, he can see the disgusted and sickened face of Peter who hasn’t moved an inch since this whole thing started. 

“Peter, go find my wife and daughter,” Anthony directs the young man. 

He doesn’t move at first but Anthony saying his name sharply snaps him back to reality as he rushes out of the room to find the two other Stark family members. Marianne cries out again as John rips her up to her feet and forces her to sit in the chair next to Bucky. 

“Care to explain what the real reason for this meeting was?” John sneers at the two men, eyes rapidly shifting between them. 

Taking a deep breath and shifting his feet slightly so they’re more solid on the ground, Bucky speaks, “It was to ask you to leave my wife and her mom alone however objectives have changed.”

“Enough with the cryptic nonsense, start talking,” he shoves the gun into the woman’s hair, releasing another cry for help. 

“Let her go and we can.”

“No.”

“I’m not going to ask again,” Bucky rolls his shoulders and shifts to the edge of his chair. 

“Then don’t,” he moves his attention to Anthony, “And you. I can’t believe you would help him with all of this. I had to go through Scott to find all of this out.”

Anthony licks his lips, “He is married to my daughter so I felt obligated to help.”

John lets out a downright evil laugh, “Obligated? You felt obligated? That’s fucking hilarious. I think you wanted to cut me out of the deal and saw your opportunity.”

“So what?” the older man shrugs his shoulders at the accusation. 

“If you felt so obligated to help your family then you would try and stop me if I shot Marianne?”

“No, she’s not my family.”

“You’re not going to shoot her. You are going to let her go though,” Bucky clears his throat and aims his stare at John. 

The constant demands are starting to wear down his resolve and his finger grows restless on the trigger. Taking out all three of them right now would solve all of his problems. Taking out all three would bring back his sweetheart and he could have her all to himself. The decision is made for him when three shots crack out and three loud thuds hit the floor. 

“Fuck, get out and get over here.”

Sam curses under his breath as he pockets his phone and waves Steve over from his search of the bedroom. 

“Buck said to head to the Stark estate. John took her with him.”

“Shit,” Steve curses before turning to the housekeeper, “Go home, pack your stuff, and get out of here.”

She nods quickly while crying and takes off out of the room. The two men reupholster their guns and leave the room. They swiftly exit the house and climb into their SUV, speeding off to the Stark Estate. 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Sam tells the man to his side as he races through the city streets. 

“Me too. Did he say anything else?”

“Not just that we needed to get over there. Do we have a first aid kit?”

Steve reaches behind the driver’s seat and pulls a backpack to the front. Opening it, he digs through it until he finds the kit.

“I hope you’re wrong,” he says, shoving the kit back in and putting it at his feet. He pulls his gun out and checks his clip before checking the rest of the clips attached to his tactile vest. 

“Me too, man, me too.”

Nat refused to let Doll drive, insisting that she could get them there faster and in one piece. Morgan had hung up the phone before they left in fear that John would hear her voice and find her. She promised to answer when her sister got there and called her to get her out. The phone rings over the car’s speakers and she smashes the answer button when she sees that it’s Sam calling. 

“Nat get her out of New York. We’re here and shit isn’t looking good.”

“What the fuck do you mean?” Doll says with an eerily calm voice. 

“Shit, where is Nat?”

“Here.” “Please tell me you’re not on your way here,” the stress of the situation is draining his energy. 

“Morgan called me crying that John was hurting people. She’s hiding in our parent’s closet. Do you know where their room is?” 

“Do not go in until we can meet you. Nat, make sure she stays put until we have eyes on you and Bucky,” Steve’s voice is harsh and authoritative as he takes over the call, “Doll I need you to answer me.” 

“Yes I won’t go in until I see you or Sam,” she begrudgingly answers, slouching into the car seat. 

“Good see you guys in a few,” he hangs up the phone. 

“Do you have an extra gun?” She asks, opening the glove compartment and riffling through it. 

“No close that,” Nat slams it shut, “you’re not going in.”

[toasecretsanta]

To: @dreams-and-dreams from @colorsunlikeanythingseen

Prompt: Meg and Apollo road trip

We see a big fork/ I’m absolutely famished/ Turns out I bite too/

I do not get why mortals complain about road trips. There is nothing better than driving across the country, spending time with friends, and listening to music, podcasts, or whatever radio station you happen to find. It is better in the sun chariot of course but even so there is joy in the journey of our stolen truck. I have however learned to appreciate road stops more than I used to when I was a god I rarely saw the point in stopping.

“Turn left” Luckily I was reinterpret this particular order and turned my body left to face Meg instead of raming the car into the side of a building

“Meg watch your orders. I am not mad at you but you have to be more careful”.

“Right, sorry” Meg said and looked away, her face was like cement. Luckily that only lasted a block and she soon went back to examining her map and humming along to the radio.

“Go…We… um.. Please go right now.” I turned right wondering what destination or dead end I would find.

I turn the corner only to find more rows of downtown brick buildings. I will never understand Missouri’s apparent urge to make everything brick. It brought up bad memories of Athena’s lectures on city planning in Olympus. I barely had to make an effort to tune out those meetings. When buildings weren’t brick they were the same bland cookie cutter modern office space.

“Right. It’s right here” Meg suddenly said. I barely had time to turn right. I pulled into a building that managed to be a mix of both brick and modern glass office space. Perhaps Athena had a point about the decay of American architecture.

“Why are we here Meg.” I asked as she stumbled out of the car with the grace of a newly born gazelle.

“Fork.” She said pointing at the fork that looked like one of Utgard-Loki’s dropped dinner sets (Do not accept any of his invitations even if he is, funny, has really good poetry, and lovely eyes. He is simply a terrible host).

“Yes I see the fork. Why?”

With her usual eloquence Meg wandered off without a word in my direction. I suppose you can only expect demigods to stay still so long. I felt a bit wobbly as well, another downside of being mortal. I used to be able to drive all day with complete ease and now after only four hours driving I wanted a rest.

I found a bench to sit down on. It was once of those weird almost modern art ones with curves that might pass as handle bars if you squinted in the middle. The air was warm and you could feel the sun warming the earth. Perhaps it was Ra up there or Sol, or a giant ball of gas, at the moment the cosmos turning on without me brought more comfort than despair. Even if I fail things would continue my children would outlive me and the world would keep turning (a weird fact but not an unpleasant one).

Someone sat down next to me and it was not Meg. It seemed to be a business lady and I felt hungry just looking at her. I didn’t need to be the god of medicine to recognize the clear signs of extremely unhealthy weightloss. She was bone thin in the way only starving people could be, her once perfectly tailored business suit now sagged around her like loose skin. Despite the layers of her suit jacket, vest, and shirt I could count her ribs. She is literally only skin and bone.

“Hey are you alright?” I asked knowing the answer should not be yes. I would not be surprised if I had to call for an ambulance which would be a problem unless the Arrow of Dodonna could make phone calls as easily as they could access google maps.

“Yes… yes I am alright better than ever in fact. Thank you for asking, what is your name, young man.” She gave me a thin smile as she found something funny.

“Lester.” I searched my pockets for some sort of snack. Dried vegetables or meats would be preferred as she would be more likely to accept that of course anything is better than nothing.

“It is nice to meet you Lester. I am Limos, I work in one of the offices there. What are you doing here this is hardly a place you should be.” I found a packet of peanuts in my sweatshirt pocket.

“I am on a road trip with my little sister.” I was starting to feel hungry myself. Ugg road trip snacks are not filling. “That’s her”

She looked over towards where Meg was destroying the carefully cultivated patch of grass at the center of the roundabout. Limos was not as happy as I was at seeing her have fun.

“Well we can’t help who we are related to.” If looks could kill Meg would be dead but when she turned back to face me Limos was all smiles again. “What do you know about this monument.”

“Not much” I was increasingly tempted to dig into the peanuts myself.

“The fork used to be a sculpture in front of some restaurant. They went out of business and whatever company rents out this office space bought the world’s second largest fork.”

“Second?” I felt weak. The last time I felt this hungry was the last time I was mortal. It hadn’t quite sunk in then that food, sleep, and water were now mandatory for me. I was in such a rush to complete the wall of Troy I didn’t eat, sleep or drink for four days straight. Had I not maintained some measure of godly strength I would have died. I wasn’t at that level of hunger yet but something was wrong.

“Oh yes the new largest fork is located in Colorado. So not it is now just a large empty fork with nothing particularly special about it.”

I pulled out the peanuts poured half into my hands and offered the other half of the bag to Limos. “Here”

She looked like I had just offered her maggot infested meat. Far faster that she should be physically be capable of moving she threw the bag into the dirt and knocked the peanuts out of my hand.

“I never share. You should never give something for nothing! That destroys profits and drives me out of business” She snarled and for a moment resembled my father about to strike. However hunger was a force far more powerful than fear so I was more focused on the peanuts.

“My peanuts!” I stumbled off the bench and collapsed as if my legs were cooked spaghetti. My stomach growled like a cornered wolf ready to eat me alive.

“You aren’t human.” I should know exactly who and what she was but as usual that file was not found.

“Neither are you Apollo.” Limos said and in a parody of tender care helped me back onto the bench.

“Why are you trying to kill me.” I asked mostly to delay the inevitable. I remembered many many reasons monsters, gods, spirits, and humans might try to kill me and there were even more that I had forgot.

“I am not trying to kill you Lord Apollo. You might die but that wouldn’t be my fault.”

“Well that is a nice change. It really does not feel like you aren’t trying to kill me though” I rasped. Shooting pains ran through my stomach were it not for Limos’ tight grip on my hands I would have charged towards the roundabout and started eating grass or the peanuts scattered out of reach.

“It’s not worth getting on Artemis’s bad side besides you are going to die soon anyways hopefully after you deal with Python. It could be… inconvenient for us all if you die before then” She said is an even and uncaring tone like she was discussing the projected revenue of a new product and not whether I would live or die.

In a worrying turn of events I stopped feeling hungry as if my body gave up on receiving anything to eat. With this bit of renewed clarity I remembered that she was the very very very minor god of famine (duh), not someone I hung out with, and the natural enemy of Demeter and her children. She wasn’t here for me she was here for Meg, and I was a hostage.

She seemed to notice my look of despair, “Oh you finally caught on took you long enough.” Limos dragged me to my feet. I had to come up with a clever plan to warn Meg unfortunately nothing clever came to mind so I did the next best thing.

I shouted. “MEG. LIMOS IS FAMINE. DO NOT STEP OFF THE---”

I was rudely interrupted by Limos covering my mouth. Taking a page out of Megs book I bit her, hard. Despite the blood running down her hand Limos didn’t even flinch. Luckily her blood was red, like the triumvirate or my sister’s hunters. Limos’ power truly had faded over the millenia. If I wasn’t about to pass out and had my ukulele or any arrows, I could kill her! Maybe...

Meg unlike me was always ready to fight someone and was armed with ornamental vegetable seeds, snacks, and swords. With her typical grace she stated, “Give him back.”

“I will if you corporate with me. Lets have a talk just you and I this does not have to be ugly and no one needs to get hurt.”

Hopefully heading my warning Meg did not move closer. Limos stepped onto the road instead cementing my theory of her not quite having the range she once had “Your dear stepfather worries about you and had hired me to bring you home.” Limos lied.

“He- he isn’t my family. That’s not my home. I am not going back like that ever again.” Meg spoke in a rush like she was trying to fit decades of unspoken words into a sentence.

“I am sorry about your situation I truly am” Limos continued lying, “But I was hired for this job and I must fulfill it. I am sure we can reach a compromise.” I am sure she said elaborated more but I was rather distracted by a jagged knife of bone getting far too close to my throat.

Perhaps it was a sign of my current starving state of mind but my first thought was not, oh yikes I am going to die , instead I wondered it I could eat that bone. There was only one way to find out. In a move so stupid that Limos couldn’t predict it I stopped biting Limos’s and bit down on the knife instead. In case you are wondering, no it did not tase good. it tasted like my own blood and new mouth injuries because that is what happens when you bite jagged knives.

Luckily Meg took advantage of Limos’s distraction or perhaps someone drop kicked a pumpkin out of a nearby window. Either way Limos fell back and I stumbled forward. Meg supported me back to the grass and more importantly the pumpkins. They were better than any ambrosia and nectar I have ever had.

“That was quite rude of you. To think we could have done this the easy way. Now well- you have disrespected a god you both know the consequences of that.” My pumpkin withered and felt more hungry than ever after eating.

“How do we beat her.” Meg said still standing tall despite her new hunger. I tried to mimic her focus.

“Food, especially gardens, grow as much as you can. You are her natural enemy for a reason, she wants to kill you before you kill her, because this god can die.”

Meg nodded and scattered seeds across the grassy spot. Strawberries blossomed and burst into fruit, shoots of grass grew into golden grain, squashes sprouted. It was a paradise greater than Elysium. I gobbled up as much strawberries as I could. Meg munched on a cob of corn. We were safe for now, but I doubted that Meg could outlast a god. Limos reached the curb but did not step closer. I could see anger behind her smiling mask either at my words or the pumpkin staining her new suit jacket.

“Ridiculous I am immortal just like you once were Lester. You could never defeat let alone kill me. I just want to kill you because you are related to someone I can’t hurt yet.” Meg nodded at me as if to say keep talking. Finally I could do something I excelled at!

“That speech might have fooled me if I were a mortal but I am a very old god. I have witnessed the final moments of pantheons, I can see the signs of a gods death. Your domain is weakening-”

“NO it is not. Famine has never weakened in fact it has grown more than ever, tonight over 828 million people will go to bed hungry. My reach has not weakened and it never will.”

“Yes there are far too many people hungry, but they don't have to be. New farming practices are so effective that there is enough food to feed everyone.” I couldn’t tune out all of Demeter's rants on improved agricultural efficiency.

“And people would rather have it rot then share it. No one shares if it means that they might lose a few dollars.” Limos successfully was distracted arguing with me but Meg seemed to need even more time.

“Some are that greedy but not everyone. Besides that isn’t even your biggest problem I mean who know who Limos is? You name is practically forgotten. I haven’t seen a shrine for you in millennia and nothing is named after a famine god. That would be terrible branding.”

For a moment Limos’ mask of confidence cracked and either fear or anger leaked through. “Shut up.” A wave a hunger washed through me a but I simply helped myself to more strawberries. “Gods are always powered by a worshippers’ fear. Even if they don’t know my name anymore, anyone that has met me fears me and will never return to life the same. That is more powerful than any shrine.” Her resemblance to Zeus continued to grew and it wasn’t because they had the same taste in business suits.

“Fear only works for so long, Love lasts far longer, but nothing is remembered forever. Even Pan died and you are far weaker than him. How much time do you have before you die like everyone you killed? I have always wondered what a god’s afterlife would be like if we have one at all.”

Limos trembled probably out of anger. “You are going to learn that first.” Bone knives flew towards my neck and would have hit were it not for Meg and her ornamental vegetables. A wave of vegetation grew cracking the concrete. A peach tree grew around Limos trapping her.

As one Meg and I ran towards the truck. The ground trembling beneath us as the road was transformed into a new community garden. We did not buckle our seat belts, I stomped on the gas pedal, accelerated to illegal speeds and left Limos in the dust. Presumably. I did not turn around to check.

It took twenty miles before I felt safe enough to speak “That was terrible. We are never doing that again”

“Yeah, don’t get captured ever again.” Meg looked at me weirdly like I might die or vanish forever if she looked away again.

“I am not planning to. Want to find us a new rest stop?”

“Thought we were never doing that again?”

“We aren’t visiting any large forks again, but a ball of twine is still on the table if it is on the way too….”

I didn’t continue the weight of our task sat too heavily in my throat for moment, but I drove on each mile getting us closer to what would be the end of our journey one way or another. I would not mind another roadside attraction before things ended.

Facts

The statistics about word hunger is accurate as of my time of writing this. Source https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/the-hunger-crisis/world-hunger-facts/

The story of the world’s second largest fork is is accurate.

A lot of Missouri’s building are made of brick due to the brick mines as well as because brick is fire resistant. St. Louis is particular had a problem with fire due to how steamboats were prone to spontaneous combustion.

Brickwork can be beautiful if you are a bit creative but corporations are not creative.

There is a surprising amount of discourse about whether or not this is or isn't the largest fork. Missouri’s is the tallest but Colorado's is the largest from what I have seen. Main source https://417local.com/largest-fork-springfield-mo/

Meg and Apollo did fight a famine sprit at Springfield Missouri’s largest fork.

Limos is the greek god of famine.

We do have enough food to feed everyone on the planet. No one needs to starve.

[bluemoose86]

Piper x Annabeth Snippet

Pairing: Piper McLean/Annabeth Chase

Summary: A fic based off of velinxi’s Young Gods AU. Annabeth meets Nico when Percy and Jason bring him to Olympus for the first time.

I was really inspired by velinxi’s Young Gods/Hades AU when it was coming out. It still has her old designs for Nico and Annabeth, but I’ll change them if I decide to finish this. Also, some things about the characters and their relationships might not fit with the “canon” of the AU since this was written before the zine was released. Check out @velinxi‘s account, and the specific drawing that I referenced in this fic can be found here

Warnings: slight angst? it’s very light, secret(ish) relationship, hurt/comfort? also very light on the hurt, lmk if there’s more

Word Count: 1,929

DISCLAIMER: This is an unfinished fic. I may continue it in the future if the urge hits me, but as of now, I have no plans to do that. Anything written in brackets [like this] is not part of the story itself, but necessary context.

✨Read Below!✨

[Annabeth’s POV. She’s walking and feels a strange, chilling aura when she walks by the garden where this fic starts. She stops and hears Percy and Jason along with an unfamiliar third voice, so she decides to investigate. She finds Percy and Jason in the garden with Nico, who is visiting Olympus for the first time.]

With a start, Annabeth realized the strange presence she had felt belonged to the small boy between them, who was gazing at his surroundings with wide, dark eyes. He was a head shorter than both Jason and Perseus, and his bone-white skin hugged his gaunt frame until it bled into ink from the middle of his calves down to his bare feet. A blood-red cape draped over his left shoulder, pinned to his black chiton by a skull, and a wreath of red and gold laurel leaves adorned his curly black hair—a symbol of godhood, though the aura of death and power emanating from him had told Annabeth that much. “Perseus? Jason?” she called across the courtyard.

All three heads jerked up to look at her. The small boy turned, and Annabeth caught sight of a jagged sword hanging from a chain at his hip: black as the depths of Tartarus and glowing an eerie purple. Just as the boy sucked the life from the grass where he stood, his blade sucked the light from the surrounding air. It was unlike any weapon Annabeth had seen before, and it did little to calm her nerves. 

The boy tilted his head. “Percy?” he asked. “Who is that?”

A familiar laugh lilted through the courtyard before Perseus could answer, and Annabeth’s heart fluttered at the sound. “Don’t you know, little godling?”

Piper’s heady rose perfume enveloped them both as she looped an arm around Annabeth’s waist, drawing her closer until her back pressed against Piper’s front. “Her name is Annabeth!” Piper proclaimed. “Favored daughter of Athena! Warrior-architect of Olympus!” She jabbed a finger at the trio. “And she has never known defeat!”

Annabeth gripped the beak of her mask and tugged it lower on her face. “Gods damn it, Piper,” she muttered through clenched teeth. Her cheeks burned—partly from the grandiose introduction, but mainly because Piper’s hand on her thigh was dangerously close to … well, all of Piper was dangerously close to her. It was best to leave it at that.

From the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Jason’s face light up. “Pipes!”

Piper lifted her hand from Annabeth’s thigh to wave, mercifully allowing her to breathe again. “Hi, Jason! Hello, Percy!” Piper called. “Who’s your friend?”

The boy raised his hand, a shy half-smile on his lips. “Hello, I’m—“

Perseus slung an arm around the boy’s shoulders and squashed him in a hug, cutting him off. “This is Nico!” Perseus answered as Nico flailed against him. “Me and Jason brought him to visit Olympus for the day.”

Annabeth frowned. Nico was clearly the son of a god—and one who had attained godhood in his own right, it seemed—so he should be living on Olympus just like the rest of them. If that wasn’t the case, where was he from?

Piper didn’t seem bothered by this as she disentangled herself from Annabeth to greet Nico properly, since he had finally managed to free himself from Perseus’s grip. Annabeth’s breath caught in her throat as Piper stepped into the sun. She was always gorgeous, but looking at her now, Annabeth swore she was even more beautiful than her mother (though she knew Lady Aphrodite would curse her if she ever dared to say that out loud). Her russet, reddish-brown skin practically glowed next to Nico’s ghostly pale complexion, and the rose pin in her chestnut hair perfectly complemented her light pink chiton. Her embellished bronze arm cuffs and vambraces glinted when she raised her arms. “Nice to meet you, Nico!” she exclaimed, grasping his hand. The heart-shaped curls at the ends of her hair—a trait she had inherited from her mother—seemed even springier than usual.

Nico shook her hand gingerly. “Nice to meet you too,” he said in a voice as small as his stature. “Piper, right? Percy and Jason told me a lot about you.”

“Likewise,” Piper said, and the sour taste returned to Annabeth’s mouth. If Piper knew about him, why hadn’t she said anything?

She didn’t have time to dwell on it before Piper grabbed her arm and dragged her closer to the group, ignoring her hushed protests. “And as I said before,” Piper continued, “the antisocial one here is Annabeth. She’s practically a genius, but we’re still working on her manners.”

Annabeth threw a glare at her, getting a playful grin in return. She still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach, but she didn’t have much choice now except to try to be friendly. “I apologize, Nico,” she said, extending her hand. “Your visit caught me by surprise. I hope you’re enjoying Olympus so far.”

Nico’s smile was much more confident as he shook Annabeth’s hand. Despite his icy touch and pallid appearance, his dark eyes were surprisingly lively, bright with the curious innocence of a small child. “I am,” he replied eagerly. “It’s beautiful here. I’ve never seen buildings quite so grand.”

Piper chuckled. “You have our resident architect to thank for that,” she said, slipping her arm out of Annabeth’s to set her hand on her waist—thankfully much higher than it had been before. “Annabeth here designed many parts of Olympus, including this very garden.”

“Hey, I didn’t know that!” Perseus exclaimed, whirling around with an apple in his hand. The branch he had plucked it from snapped back into place, scattering leaves into his messy black hair.

“Come on, how could you not know?” Jason asked. “Annabeth modeled it after Lady Aphrodite herself. She walked around Olympus raving about it for about a month.”

“It’s true,” Piper told Nico. “Mom still likes to tell me how impressed she is by Annabeth’s generous gift.”

Piper winked at her, and Annabeth hoped her mask would cover the blush spreading across her face. Back when they’d only been friends, Annabeth had complained to Piper about not having inspiration, and Piper had replied that she should design something after her. She’d been joking, but Annabeth had taken the idea and ran with it. Unfortunately, Lady Aphrodite had been the first to stumble on the completed garden, and she immediately assumed it was an homage to her. Annabeth felt too guilty and valued her life too much to tell her the truth.

Perseus shrugged. “Guess I just forgot.” He opened his mouth to take a bite of the apple, but a sudden gust blew it into Jason’s outstretched hand instead. “Hey!” 

“You snooze, you lose!” Jason crowed, grinning as he held the apple aloft in one hand and pushed Perseus away with the other.

“I wasn’t snoozing, you ass! I was just about to eat it!” Perseus lunged again, but Jason dodged out of the way.

“Then go get another one.”

“You get another one!”

“Why would I do that when I already have this one?”

“Because that one is mine!”

Nico turned to watch them, laughing, but he winced as soon as he faced the back of the garden. He shielded his eyes with his hand even though the sun was hidden behind the clouds.

Annabeth frowned. “Are you all right?”

Nico’s shy smile was back, tinged with embarrassment. “Yes, sorry. I’m not quite used to how bright it is yet. We don’t get a lot of sunlight where I live.”

Jason scoffed, popping up from his scuffle with Perseus. “That’s an understatement.”

Even Piper seemed intrigued now. “What does that mean?” 

Jason frowned, dodging out of the way as Perseus pounced again. “We didn’t tell you?” he asked. “Nico’s lived in the Underworld most of his life. He’s Lord Hades’s son.”

[Bit of a skip here. Annabeth and Piper process this news. Annabeth isn’t sure whether Nico is trustworthy since he’s from the Underworld, and it’s well known that Lord Hades isn’t exactly a fan of Olympus. Eventually, Percy proposes a sparring match between him and Annabeth so they can show off their skills to Nico. Annabeth is hesitant about it until Piper says it’s a good idea; then she agrees because she’s a simp.]

Annabeth strode towards the arena with Piper at her side. The other three lagged behind, laughing and talking about whatever detail Perseus and Jason pointed out to Nico. She would have much preferred for them to be in front so she could keep Nico in her sights, but she also knew that if those three set the pace, the Titans would reawaken before they reached their destination.

Piper poked her arm. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“You’re making that face.”

“What face?”

“The ‘I'm-thinking-too-much-again’ face.”

“I’m not making a face, Piper.”

[Small skip again.]

“Piper, when was the last time anyone from Olympus visited the Underworld? Besides Lord Hermes,” she added when Piper opened her mouth. “And until now, when was the last time someone from the Underworld visited Olympus?”

[Percy, Jason, and Nico are busy looking at something, so they’ve stopped walking for now.]

“Why didn’t you tell me about him?” Annabeth asked. She tried to keep her voice from sounding too accusatory, but an edge still slipped past her lips and into her words. 

Piper didn’t seem bothered by it. “Now you just sound jealous,” she teased, a mischievous grin on her lips. “Worried Percy and Jason have replaced you as my favorite?”

Annabeth tried to stay serious even as a hot blush spread across her face. “Piper,” she warned. “Please.” It wasn’t like she was obligated to tell Annabeth everything, but to keep something like this … it stung more than she would like to admit.

Piper’s perfect lips creased into a frown, her ever-changing eyes shifting from hazel to olive green. “All right, all right. Sorry.” She glanced back at where the three boys had stopped, as if checking to see if they were watching, but Annabeth knew they would be too engrossed by their own antics to pay the two of them any attention. “Look, I didn’t know he was Lord Hades’s son,” she continued. “All Percy and Jason told me was that they had found another god who had been born a demigod like us, and they wanted to bring him to visit Olympus. I knew you would be skeptical, so I was going to tell you the day before Nico was supposed to be here. Then, of course, they brought him early.”

Annabeth crossed her arms. “Why wait so long?”

“Because you would have worried, Annabeth. If I’d told you when I first found out, it’s all you would have thought about until he finally got here. Then you probably would have broken his arm as soon as he tried to give you a handshake.” She said the last part with a slight smile, but her eyes were still filled with concern. “I didn’t want to put you through that.”

“That’s not your decision to make, Piper.”

“I know.” Piper gazed into Annabeth’s eyes, grabbing both of her hands and twining their fingers together. “And I’m sorry.”

Annabeth studied her. The earnestness in Piper’s eyes helped ease the barb of pain in her chest, and she knew that Piper only had her best interests at heart. “I know. And I’m sorry, too. For making you think you had to keep this from me. Just ... tell me next time, okay? Please. And I’ll try not to worry as much.”

Piper beamed. “Deal.” She bit her lip shyly, her eyes glowing dusky pink in the light. “Can I kiss you?”

Annabeth’s heart jumped to her throat. She glanced back at the boys, who were still staring at some statue down the hall. In fact, they’d probably forgotten she and Piper were even there. With a small eye roll (though she was grateful for their obliviousness in this particular instance), she nodded to Piper, who pressed their lips together. It was little more than a peck, but it still left Annabeth’s head swimming.

Piper’s cheeks were flushed, and her smile seemed even brighter now. “You’re beautiful,” she murmured, tucking a stray hair behind Annabeth’s ear.

Annabeth was sure her face had to be the same color as Piper’s chiton. “Trying to flatter me into forgiving you?”

“Seems like it’s working,” Piper said with a laugh.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! I really want to finish this at some point, and if I ever do I’ll update it here and post it to AO3 (hopefully). 

[aralezinspace]

Writeblr Positivity Tag

was tagged by both @chromehoplite and @hangfiretales and haven't really had Brain to write so fingers crossed this helps get the juices flowing again xD Under a cut cuz I kinda went off with the answers xD

1. What motivates you to write?

Rereading my favorite stories, certain movies- I forget what Tolkien called it, but just the urge to create after seeing something beautiful that someone else has created. Also telling stories as a sort of release for the feelings/vibes/sentiments that I just don't have space to experience in my every day life.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

From one of Megan’s stories I’m starting to rework so it’s one cohesive thing and not a tumblr RP thread xD

The truth… Megan laced her fingers and leaned forward, resting her forearms on her thighs. Her hazel eyes stared without focus into the distance. How much of the truth to tell him, at least at this moment.

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

Guardian Megan Samuels. Both she and her order were created for/in the Doctor Who universe, but I'm tweaking some of the concepts for a potential OW. Writing her adventures got me through a really horrible period of my life.

Megan is the embodiment of one of my favorite tropes, "character is done with x but x isn't done with them (because they're good at it)." She was plucked from her life and remolded into a warrior, yet despite being hundreds of years old and seeing untold horros (time war) she hasn't succumbed to cynicism.

She's kind and self sacrificing almost to the point of martyrdom, very protective of the ones she cares about, "you said pick my battles, I'm picking all of them", the hardened exterior of a warrior hiding the fragile, broken, vulnerable, and somehow still kind and optimistic person underneath.

Fuck I miss writing her. Might be time to dust off her old stories...

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

The semi stressful feeling when the ideas and plot are forming faster than your fingers can type- and when the flow stops, going back and tweaking the whole ass story or scene that just popped into existence like Athena did to Zeus xD just watching the story unfold before you, sometimes in ways you didn't think it would

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

How I write action, specifically fights. Pacing it and varying the language so it's engaging but also realistic within the world of the story, and also the thoughts and feelings of the characters while they're fighting.

Also how I can almost always find the right/specific words to describe the vaguest of vibes and feelings, so that the ephemeral mess in my head is understandable (prob cuz I had to do that a lot to get people in my life to understand how I was experiencing the world)

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

Both the commiseration about how writing is wonderful and awful at the same time, and seeing normally eloquent writers have incoherent unhinged conversations about their blorbos xD

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

Sticky notes and a notebook. I have post-its in the back of my writing notebook with all my ideas/prompts so that if I want to write something but don't know what, I can pick one. also specifically those notebooks with folders in them, they're the unsung heros of writers who just accumulate scrap paper with notes and ideas and want to keep them with their writing notebook (aka me) xD

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

In the Doctor Who universe that Megan was originally created for, the Order of Guardians is formed of soldiers of different species from all over the universe, kind of like the Green Lantern corps but for Time Lords. Each Guardian is assigned a Time Lord to protect, how they go about that is their business (Megan is basically glued to the Doctor's hip, she gotta be xD), but their first loyalty is to Gallifrey. They are all enhanced to live as long as Time Lords but don't regenerate, they go through extensive training and schooling, are the elite fighting force of Gallifrey. Megan was the first human Guardian. I'm working on tweaking this whole concept for a potential OW, we'll see how it goes xD

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Write what you want to write, no matter what it is. Go to your sources of motivation, whatever makes you want to get lost in the magic of storytelling. and remember, it's okay to step away for a bit and come back to it in a few days or weeks or however long- give your brain the space to rest.

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters.

Both Chrome and Ama who are already tagged (such amazing writers and so supportive of my multi chap that I've been working on for 3 ish years now) but also @griever-bit-my-finger @honeybeezgobzzzzz @7-wonders @just-french-me-up @just-some-random-blogger @roguelov @cuckoo-on-a-string @peachesofteal @undiscovered-horizon @just-some-random-blogger All of these folks have multiple works that I've read multiple times, and I enjoy them just as much every reread as I did the first time (No pressure to do the questions just my undying love)

[druckkugelschreiber]

so I gotta know about "did you sleep with your teacher?"

(also I'm probably not doing the wip ask game myself until tomorrow)

Kel's out here asking the real questions! I'm so glad you asked (also no pressure on when you answer the game :D )

Also TW for underage teacher/student relationship!

So, the title 'Did you sleep with your teacher?' is from my Marvel / School for good and evil crossover fic. It's about Athena Stark, Tony Stark's nonbinary kid and Lady Lesso from the school for good and evil (again I don't think anybody is actually surprised).

Anyway, Athena, being a Stark and all, is in her last years of college being 17 years old and doing their second PhD. They take an advanced psychology class where Lesso is their teacher and the two hit it off.

Coincidentally Lesso is also a SHIELD agent/ recruiter.

The title is from a scene I haven't written yet where Tony finds out and is like "Did you sleep with your teacher?" And Athena is like "uuhhhh... no?" (Yes, she did in fact sleep with her very hot teacher).

Also on a tasty side note they have some fun desk sex that was very fun to write about.

Rather long snippet of them in the flirting stage below!

“What are you doing here?” Professor Lesso’s cool voice travelled down my back like the caress of a finger. 

I didn’t stop the maltreatment of the punching bag. “I’m working out.”

“You’ve never been here before”, her voice got closer, though I couldn’t hear the cadence of her steps over my rhythmic punching. 

“No, you’ve never seen me here before”, I corrected and stopped when she stepped within my field of view. 

So far I had seen her only in her teaching outfits, sharp cut suits, vest and tie and all. It made her look sophisticated and in charge, her wild curls always perfectly styled. But now, now, she wore tight fitting sports gear, that hugged her like a second skin. She had an incredibly athletic figure with lean muscles fitting perfectly with her sharp cut face. 

I wanted to feel her body against mine, those long, long legs wrapped around me. It didn’t help that she had braided back her hair, leaving her stunning face bare. The urge to pepper the line of her cheekbones with kisses was near overwhelming. 

“Stop being a smartass and answer the question.”

“I fear being a smartass is part of my genetic heritage”, I smirked. 

“Don’t make me hurt you, Stark.”

She really was making this easy on me. “Don’t tempt me with a good time.”

I never saw the strike coming. Well, correction, I saw the slight twitch, but didn’t expect her to actually attack me. She grabbed my wrist, whirled me around and nearly had me on the fucking floor before my body remembered hey we could fight too!

I slipped out of her grip for a second, but she readjusted and she was so much better than me. I managed to struggle a bit longer, but she had me on the mats in under a minute. I grunted in anger and pain. One of her knees on my shoulder, the other pressed down on my arm and elbow. Yeah she had me good. 

“Now, little mx sass”, she rasped in my ear, making me shudder despite my best efforts. “What are you doing here?”

“I already told you”, I smirked against the floor, “I’m working out.”

Lesso grumbled in frustration. “Why are you working out here? Instead of your usual gym?”

“Why do you think I have a usual gym?”

She readjusted the weight on my arm and I let out a pained breath, fuck was she hot. “I’m not daft, Stark. You don’t get a body like yours from not working out somewhere.”

My grin returned. “Noticed my body huh?” flirting with your prof? Bad idea. Flirting with your prof while you were still underage for a good three months? An even worse idea. Good thing I was always here for bad ideas. I wanted to wriggle to emphasise the statement but she still had so much pressure on my arm it would only hurt. 

“Hmh, yes”, Lesso purred and fuck me why was her voice so hot? “Now, Athena”, my name from her lips was a siren song. “Why are you here?”

“My usual gym is renovating”, I said, “and also I found out conveniently enough the room here is always empty around this time and I like being able to punch a bag without some guy coming over and trying to give me advice.”

Lesso scoffed in disbelief. No matter how much I turned my head, I couldn’t catch a look at her face. “Do you know why the room is usually empty at this time?”

“Please enlighten me, professor.” 

She readjusted the pressure on my arm, causing me to wince. “I have it booked.”

I held back a smirk that would have betrayed the fact that I knew that. I wasn’t dumb. I hadn’t just come into the college gym at random. Information was my business and I never missed it. Also when you were famous you sort of had to check the places you went to beforehand. 

“Oh, I’m sorry”, I said, “I had no idea.”

“Yes, you did”, Lesso hissed, “and now I have to punish you.”

Please do. I rested my head against the ground. 

She let go of me rather suddenly. 

I remained in the same position for a few seconds longer before I rolled around and carefully moved my arm to get rid of the throbbing. 

Lesso hadn’t stood up, still kneeling next to me so close that her knee rested against my hip. For someone who had just laid on the floor, my breathing was entirely too fast. “So what will it be, Athena? How would you like to be punished?”

“What do you have in mind, professor?” there was a rasp to my voice. 

Lesso smirked and stood up. “I guess I’ll have to teach you what happens when you interrupt my private time.”

Okay? Why had she stood up though?

“Get up. I’ll warm up and then we can spar.”

“Not the reason why I wanted to be unable to walk tomorrow.”

Lesso burst out laughing. The sound caught me entirely off guard. It was too cute for a trained assassin and spy. So open and full of light and with little dimples and oh my god, she shouldn’t be this cute laughing. “If you hadn’t interrupted, maybe I’d have done that.”

Oh fuck me she was mean. I pushed myself off the ground and tore off one of the punching gloves with my teeth, “fine.”

Her eyes got stuck on my teeth and lips. 

I raised an eyebrow, “didn’t you want to warm up?”

[chironshorseass]

Writing prompt #37 with percabeth pre-tlo (where the person saying it might want to keep it a secret…) TYSM <333

(i think…..this is the “i had a dream about you” sentence starter. so i’ll go with that :) ) 

in which the aphrodite kids host a party and regrets happen. tw alcohol and mentions of alcoholism.

read on ao3

if points could be given just by stealing glances, percy would never have failed algebra.

this thought is stupid, maybe—probably a product of being adhd, but he can’t help it, since he did. fail algebra. and also fail everyone else. there’s no point in stealing glances when he wins no points at all, sulking in the farthest corner of the aphrodite cabin like the wall’s shadow as he watches his friends have fun.

as he steals glances. at one girl in particular. she doesn’t return them, however. sounds of laughter and the blasting songs of avril lavigne clatter in his mind like shattering glass. then a cheer. he looks up again, only to find annabeth chug down another drink, handing the cup over to an overly-touchy conner. temptation crawls up his throat, to go to her. but he holds his ground with the grinding of his teeth. there’s no point—fifteen minutes ago, she’d told him to go away, to stop being such a baby.

fine. if she wants it that way.

she doesn’t, of course. he doesn’t. annabeth’s even worse when drunk.

“oh my gods, perce,” comes a voice laced with sweetness. silena is there, standing over him with her hands on her hips. “you’re seriously gonna sit here all broody and shit?”

he finds the strength to shrug.

silena doesn’t buy it. she never does. “come on, pretty boy.”

and he doesn’t respond, even if he hates his most recent nickname with all his being; silena knows it, too.

“ugh, seriously?”

“i’m fine, silena.” he doesn’t mean to snap, but he does anyway. it’s completely in character for him to do so, he supposes—especially these days.

she just raises an eyebrow. whoever said that the aphrodite kids are weak never had a confrontation with one of them. “just because she told you to stop fussing over her doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. because seriously, she’s gonna need it. that girl has no self control, and i’m actually surprised, for once.”

“who said i was here because of annabeth?”

she scoffs, crouching down to his eye level. this should infuriate him, maybe, but this is also silena. talking to her about a certain daughter of athena has always given him the urge to cry.

“percy, honey…i know these things. you know i know these things. so don’t play dumb with me and actually go to her.”

he looks away, grumbling, “i’m fine like this, thank you very much. besides, i’m not into partying.”

“the first time in like, forever that chiron leaves camp and you won’t enjoy yourself?” she makes a tsk sound. “nope, i don’t buy it. come on.”

“i’m tired, is all,” he manages. it’s not a lie, either. tired. he’s tired of pretending like everything’s okay. “just…go back to your drinking games or whatever. i don’t want to ruin your fun.” he nods over to clarisse, who, as he guessed, is watching them expectantly, waiting for silena.

“come on, percy. for a couple of minutes. please? and then you can go back to your self pity, i don’t care—just…give it a try. for annabeth.”

~

“percy! hi!”

annabeth’s voice isn’t really annabeth’s voice. it’s something else, trapped between euphoria and excitement. it had been so long since she addressed him with such happiness, and maybe this is why she doesn’t sound like her at all—why he might suddenly want to steal one of the red cups that’s being filled to the brim with the mystery drink travis stoll had brought and chug it down in one gulp. why he wants to grab her face and beg her to stop crushing his heart into pieces for at least an hour. just one hour, and he would be alright.

of course, he does none of those things.

he stammers instead: “hey, uh. annabeth. hey. you alright? you, uh, need some water?”

she bites down on her bottom lip, which isn’t distracting at all. “why would i need some water?”

“it helps lower the level of alcohol in your system. especially if it’s sparkling water.”

this time, she frowns. “i’m not drunk, though.”

he wants to argue that yes, you are, and i don’t like seeing you this way; her nose and cheeks are flushed, a shade he recalls seeing on a man who didn’t know how to love so instead he spilled his heart into beer as if that would fix the emptiness inside. percy chastises himself. annabeth is different—she’s annabeth, his best friend who is also his worst enemy. but someone he cares for nonetheless. she’s drunk either way. this is what made him hide in a corner in the first place.

“how much did you drink?”

“a little! i swear! so maybe i’m a bit drunk. just super little!”

“okay, just”—he carefully pries the plastic cup from her hands—“no more, okay? i don’t want you to feel bad tomorrow.”

“but what’s the point in that?” she pouts. “because if i feel bad, you’ll take care of me, but if i don’t, you’ll just go away!”

again, annabeth is so much worse when drunk. and he knows that she doesn’t mean to say this, that she’s not in her right state of mind, but it still feels like all she wants to do is leave him in a frozen mountainside to die.

“i—okay, annabeth—”

“i want to be with you, seaweed brain.” she throws her arms around him, and all of a sudden nothing else matters, as corny as it is. maybe there’s a wolf whistle or two; he doesn’t care, not when she’s got that look on her face as she meets his eyes.

“i thought you said you wanted me to go away,” he says, breathless.

she gives him a small smile, and it sprouts doubt in his chest like weeds—about whether or not she’s sober. “i like to lie when i’m with you.”

no. she’s definitely drunk. a tingle starts from the base of his neck, where annabeth plays with a lock of his hair.

“no more drinking if you’re with me,” he says. “okay?”

her smile widens; her eyes sparkle like stars. “i don’t need anything else.”

in an instant annabeth’s arms tighten around him; she embraces him fully, nose pressed to his shoulder. a few feet away, silena gives him a thumbs up as he helps drew set up the beer pong.

“i missed you.”

he pats her back with the palm of his hand, closes his eyes, drowns his face in her curls. “i missed you, too.”

“i had a dream about you, you know.”

the comment takes him completely by surprise; annabeth is yet to pull away. he recovers quickly, though.

“was it like, a demigod dream?” he asks tentatively.

“no,” she says simply. now is when she draws back, meeting him face to face. but he can’t manage to let her go just yet. “i liked the dream. because you kissed me. like, an actual, good kiss. and everything was perfect.”

“i, um…” his heart stammers, then stops, maybe. he’s not sure, because all he can focus on is how wide her eyes are, how they almost look sky blue in the fairy lights. then reality hits him. “maybe we should go.”

“so we can kiss?” she says hopefully.

“no, ‘beth. you’re drunk. you need to sleep, or, or something.”

her arms pull him closer, close enough for him to fully smell the alcohol coming from her warm breaths. “i want to kiss you, though.”

hands gripping her waist, he separates himself from her, if just a tad. “you’re drunk. you don’t want to kiss me, so just—”

“no, you don’t want to kiss me!” her skin turns a deeper shade of red, traveling from her cheeks all the way to her neck, like a creeping vine.

“yeah, i don’t! not if i’m the only one sober!”

she backs away. her touch lingers, however. like when you’ve placed your hand in the warm, oven glass for too long.

“but he kissed me.” her words come as a confrontation, and with it the dread from watching her all night come in loose strings.

“who?” it’s a shame he has to ask.

she crosses her arms, looks over her shoulder. a second passes before he knows exactly who it is. connor stoll waves at them, then falters once he catches onto percy’s expression.

oh.

“connor? connor fucking stoll? really, annabeth?”

“well, you don’t want me,” she says, a tremor in her voice; her eyes glisten. stars melting. “you clearly don’t want me, but maybe someone else does.”

“for fuck’s sake, you—”

he reaches for her, because he may hate to see her drunk, but it’s worse if she cries, and no no no this can’t be happening because she’s running away from his hands and now all that’s left is a ghostly memory.

“you’re all i want, but damn it, annabeth, you’re drunk; you’re not thinking—”

“but you don’t show that!” she cries, and this is when tears roll down, when people start to notice. “i’m not all you want! all you want is some shitty mortal girl who’s apparently way better than me!”

“is this some competition, then? because last time i checked, you kissed connor, of all people!”

bile rises in him, a hot rod gnawing in his chest that comes every time he argues with her. gods, he’s tired. tired of arguing.

“i can do whatever the fuck i want! i’m sure you kiss plenty of girls, you, with your dumb fucking face—”

“okay, i think you need to rest—”

she pushes him away. “no, fuck you, percy! you are the last fucking person to tell me what i need. because what i need is—”

“hey, girlie,” silena says gently, suddenly behind her. she grasps annabeth by the shoulders. “c’mon, let’s go.”

annabeth’s lip trembles, and the only thing percy can do is watch. do nothing as he’s stomped on, again and again.

“but i don’t want to go—”

silena shushes her. “you two will talk in the morning, okay?”

something about her soothes annabeth; maybe it’s the honey in her voice, because she nods. silena makes eye contact with him just as they turn away. soon they are lost in the crowd of demigods.

percy’s fists clench. he doesn’t move, only looks around. but connor is also gone.

fuck everything, he thinks.

no one notices him leave.

~

they find each other in the dining pavilion, the next morning. her eyes are puffed up and red and glaring as if the sun is too much. perhaps it is. but she’s nothing but beautiful, even if she may look half dead, leaning against a pillar. he’s the one to approach her first.

“i’m sorry.”

she glances up, startled. her expression says it all.

“no i...i shouldn’t have...” she starts, but her throat seems to close up. it must hurt for her to speak, or else why would her voice sound so rough?

“you…you weren’t in your right state of mind—”

“i know.” her lips purse together. “it won’t happen again.”

a million things are left unsaid, and a million more are left in the dark. he’s not sure what they are, anymore.

“but, um, i was just wondering…about what you said.”

“i don’t know what i said.”

it’s half a lie, though. 

because, then, why are you sorry?

maybe she was drunk, but he’s certain that she remembers, at least somewhat. or at least that someone told her. her expression says it all once more.

so he doesn’t give up, not when he’s made it this far.

“you told me…that you wanted to kiss me.” he wrings his hands together as his eyes flicker to their shoes. “something along those lines. did you…” his gaze lands on her like a magnet. he never seems to stop. “did you mean it?”

she’s all hardened stone, and her words are bitter and cold. “i was drunk, percy. what more do you want to hear?”

"nothing, nothing, but..."

but i'll always choose you. forever. i never kissed anyone else, and i don't want to kiss anyone else but you. you are everything to me, and then some.

the words wilt in his throat like the discarded roses on his mom's dining table.

"just forget it," she says. "okay? forget i said anything, because i...didn't mean it."

something lies beneath her eyes, but Percy's too tired to fish it out, explore it with his hands. he just lets it be and continues. he bites his feelings down just as he later bites down on his toast. and watches annabeth.

there’s no point in stealing glances when you win no points at all.

[wlwmarvelenthusiast]

Just Doin’ My Job, Darlin’

Summary: Your job as a Ravager gets you into trouble with the intergalactic hero known as Captain Marvel.

Pairing: Reader x Carol Danvers

Warnings: some blood, light violence

Words: 3,547

"Uh... hey," you practically stuttered out, startled to find someone behind you.

You were a ravager, and you were damn good at your job. That meant knowing your surroundings, especially when you were on a job. Yet, somehow, she'd managed to sneak up on you. If you hadn't been quick enough to shove the ring deep into your pocket, you'd have been caught red-handed.

You were damn good at your job, and you composed yourself in seconds. The ring slipped out from where it was clutched between your fingers and you withdrew your hands from within your pockets. You plastered a confident smile on your face as you crossed your arms across your chest.

"Hey there," the blonde offered, an equally confident smile on her face. "What's up?"

"Nothin'," you shrugged, uncrossing your arms and looping your thumbs through the belt loops on your pants. "Taking a walk. Beautiful night, isn't it, Beautiful?"

The blonde's eyes sparkled in amusement. She took a few steps closer. Confidence still coursing through your veins, you let her. You didn't make any move to back down. She noticed that. When she stopped, she was only a few feet away from you. Another step and she could have reached out and touched you.

The blonde's lips crept into a cocky expression. "Beautiful night indeed."

You didn't dare make it obvious how you were checking out the area for the second time. When you'd entered, you'd made note of every entrance and exit to the area. The blonde was blocking the one that lay directly ahead, but not the one behind you. That was free for you to turn and run to. You just needed to wait. If you went now, she'd be right behind you and able to catch up to you in mere seconds.

"Headed somewhere? I could walk you?" She offered. "You know, Fennal isn't always safe at night."

"I'm just going up the street. I'm good thanks."

You could feel the ring pressed against your leg in your pocket. You knew she knew you were up to no good. You also knew that she knew you knew she knew. Neither of you would say that aloud, though. It was a bit of a game, at this point. She wanted that little piece of jewelry in your pocket. You wanted it too. No, you wanted the pay you were promised for stealing it.

"You sure? I'm probably headed in the same direction."

"I doubt it," you laughed.

The blonde smirked a little. You kept your eyes with hers, unable to ignore just how beautiful her light brown irises really were. But you wouldn't tell her that. You wouldn't tell her jack shit. You were waiting for her to get distracted for one brief moment so that you could turn and sprint down that alley. It seemed your wishes were heard.

"Hey, Carol!" A voice called.

The blonde, Carol, let her gaze flicker toward the voice for a mere millisecond and you took the opportunity to turn and dart as fast as you could down the alley behind you. Your ears strained to hear over the sound of your own shoes hitting the gravel beneath your feet. Unmistakably, though, you heard the set of footsteps chasing after you. You pushed even harder.

You ducked through a backyard, pushing out of your way a jacket that was hanging on a clothesline. At the other side of the yard, you hopped over the fence and landed smoothly on the ground on the other side. But now, you didn't hear Carol's steps. You didn't risk slowing down. You kept onward in the direction of your pod.

As you ran, you became aware of your shadow growing in front of you. It was surrounded by a glowing orange light. Even as your lungs struggled to get enough oxygen, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. When your shadow began to spin around your body until it was behind you, you realized why. You could have huffed aloud at the complete unfairness of the situation.

Carol was fifteen feet off the ground, surrounded by a bright orange glow. She still had that same smirk on her face as she looked down on you. You were hesitating in your step, now, not sure you could outrun her. You knew one thing, though. Despite these powers the blonde had, you weren't about to give up. You turned on your heel.

You watched your own shadow to keep track of Carol. She was following you. Your shadow shrunk and indicated she was getting closer. When your shadow began to shrink faster, you made a sharp turn to the left. The shadow grew a little as she fell behind a few feet, not prepared for the sudden change in direction. Your chest was rising and falling rapidly, but you weren't a stranger to chases. You'd had more than a few run-ins with guards from many planets throughout the galaxy.

You smirked at the sight in front of you. One of the planet's natives had just inserted the keys into a hover bike but hadn't yet gotten on. You struggled to go faster than you thought you could. You pushed him to the ground, hopped on, and immediately pushed the bike as fast as it would go. You had to grip the handles tight as your inertia tried to hold you back.

The bike seemed to rival Carol's speed. The size of your shadow in front of you stayed constant and you managed to take a quick glance behind you. Carol was high in the air, hands down by her hips, moving more quickly than a person should be able to in order to keep up with the bike you were on. Then your pod came into view and you let a small smirk come over your face. You turned to the bike made to move past the ship, then jumped off.

Pain raced through your body. You ignored it, rolling a couple times to take the impact, racing up the ramp as quick as you possibly could, and slamming your hand down on the red button to shut the hatch. Carol wasn't thirty feet away. You took the last of your energy to roll onto your back.

"Athena, max speed!" You shouted.

The AI heard. She ignored every protocol about seatbelts and closed doors as the captain's voice override her programming. The pod had a max speed of 50,000 kilometers per hour. It was nothing compared to the main ship, but it was sure faster than Carol. The ship's acceleration got the best of her, and soon enough you were barreling through space and leaving her far behind.

As it had sped up faster than physics should have allowed, though, your body had slammed into the wall behind you. You groaned as you rolled away from it, every bone, organ, and tissue in your body aching from the speed. Your organs seemed to have caught up to the ship, finally. You resisted the urge to puke as you pulled yourself to your feet, rubbing a sore shoulder and swiping your fingers over the blood dripping down your forehead.

"Thanks, Athena. Take us home."

"Roger that, Boss."

You let yourself drop into your chair. You took the black mask off from where it had rested over the top half of your face, rubbing the pad of your index finger over the spot where it had pushed into the bridge of your nose, grumbling in frustration. You could feel the indent in your skin.

"ETA?"

"Twenty-seven minutes."

Those twenty-seven minutes seemed to take forever. The pod was small. There wasn't anywhere you could lay your head back. There wasn't a damn bathroom, a fact you couldn't seem to get your mind off. When the pod had secured itself to the mothership, you practically sprinted out and to the nearest toilet.

Your red jacket was undone as you stepped onto the bridge of The Athena. It was the middle of the night based on your home planet, the time that you and your crew followed to at least keep a semblance of a schedule. Because of the time, though, most of the crew had retreated to their quarters for the night and were fast asleep.  

"Hey, Cap."

The greeting caught your attention. You turned toward the voice, smiling when you met the gaze of your first mate. He wasn't much younger than you were. He was from a planet called Dervius, having retreated from the planet to live a life with the Ravagers after living a life of poverty there for ten years, having been cast out by his family at only eight. It was your third day as the leader of your clan when you picked him up and took him in, giving him a spot in your crew. That was already five years ago and the Dervion had worked his way all the way up to first mate.

"Vyn," you greeted.

"How'd it go?"

You pulled the sparkling ring from your pocket. Vyn grinned at the sight of it. He pulled a device out of his pocket, tapping on the screen a few times and then humming quietly as he scrolled. He let out a soft exclamation of victory as he found what he had been searching for.

"Three hundred thousand. Damn, Cap. That thing can't be worth 100k."

"Well, we charge for the stealing part too, Vyn."

Vyn shrugged. "Fair enough. Why don't you go catch some shuteye? We should be back to the buyer in a few hours. Who's doing the delivery?"

"I will," you said, sticking the ring back into your pocket.

Vyn chuckled. "You know, Cap, that most clan leaders aren't so hands on with the dirty work."

"I'm not most clan leaders, Vyn," you winked. "I'm heading down to my quarters. Call for me when we get there."

︽✵︽

You straightened out your red jacket as you stepped out of your pod. You nodded at the landing strip attendant as you ventured onto the familiar planet. You whistled merrily on your way, flashing wide smiles at whoever you happened to make eye contact with. You glanced at your phone as it directed you where to go. You could have caught a ride, but you were up for a bit of a walk.

It was a half hour walk to the place you were looking for. You stepped in quietly. It was a bar, and not exactly a very nice looking one. You wouldn't be surprised if half the people in there were criminals. In fact, you wouldn't be surprised if you weren't the only Ravager in there. When you entered you pulled the mask over your face again, clipping the flames of the Ravagers over your chest.

You stepped up to the bar and ordered a drink. You took it when it came and slid into one of the booths. You'd arrived early, and knew it'd be a while before the client arrived. You scanned the area as you waited, sipping quietly as you watched the planet natives, finding entertainment in two particularly large guys fighting over who had made the illegal move in a game of darts.

"Captain Red?"

Of course, that wasn't your real name. You'd never give your real name to a client. You only nodded, gesturing to the seat across from you. He sat down and fumbled with his hands a little, clearly nervous. It wasn't an uncommon reaction. He was meeting with a thief for hire and paying a good sum of money for stolen goods.

"I have the money."

"Straight to business, I see," you hummed, sipping from your glass. "That's alright with me."

You reached into your pocket, pulling out the ring. His eyes immediately locked to it. He reached out and you pulled away, keeping the piece out of his reach. You raised a single eyebrow as his eyes moved back up to yours. You clicked your tongue as a small smile of amusement played over your lips.

"Units first."

He nodded. He pulled out a device from his pocket, pressing some buttons on it. Yours, which sat out on the table in front of you, beeped. You glanced at it to find the transfer complete. Then you nodded, placing the ring flat in your palm, and holding it out in front of you.

"Pleasure doing business with you, sir."

He grabbed the ring, nodded, and scampered out without another word. You chuckled lightly to yourself, draining what was left in your glass. You pulled the mask off again and took the pin off your chest. Everyone else in the room was too drunk to notice the change. You stepped up to the bar once more.

"I'll take another."

The bartender nodded. He filled your glass as you put a finger to the comm in your ear and let Vyn know you were going to stick around for a little fun, should anyone want to join. But the Ravagers had made their own fun the previous night and were far too hungover to think of joining you in the bar. You rolled her eyes as you lowered your hand.

"Prettiest girl in the bar, aren't ya?" A voice slurred to your left.

You turned just in time to see the man flashed you a wide grin. You nodded and tilted your head a little. "I'd expect."

"So why don't ya come sit a little closer?"

You laughed. "I'm alright just where I am."

He sneered. "Listen here-"

But a shadow appeared between you and he, cast upon the bar top. It distracted the both of you. You turned to see who had stepped up to the two of you, and your jaw could have hit the ground. But your face stayed blank as the blonde's gaze met you for just a brief second before turning back to the man who had been hitting on you. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Everything alright here?"

"'Course."

"I'd hope," she hummed. "Because I seem to remember you and I having a nice, long talk about good manners."

"We did," he coughed. He stood up, nodding at you and retreating back across the room to where his friends were all jesting and shouting, spilling their drinks on the tabletops, the floor, and themselves.

You turned your attention back to the woman who had stepped up next to you. She was taking the seat beside yours, ordering a drink for herself and another for you. You smirked a little when she turned to you. Despite your lack of a mask and the absence of the flames upon your chest, she recognized you immediately.

"Long time no see," she offered.

You chuckled. "Very. What's a Fenarian guard like you hangin' out in a place like this for, Carol?"

"Caught my name, I see," she said, accepting the drink that was slid toward her. "But the guard thing isn't quite accurate."

"Oh, no?"

That didn't get a reply. You sipped your drink, watching her the entire time. She only shrugged her shoulders, drinking from her own glass. It stayed like that for a long while. Your egos were both too big to dare be the one to break the silence that had fallen upon you. So, you drank in silence. In fact, you'd both drained your glasses before Carol finally took it upon herself to be the one to speak the first words.

"You know my name, and I don't know yours."

"That's intentional," you told her. "But if you must call me something, I usually just go by Captain. Cap works."

"That's a title, not a name."

"A fact I am well aware of, Carol."

When she didn't reply, you smirked a little. You weren't shy about the way you were eyeing her up and down. She was, to be frank, one of the most attractive women you'd ever met. She was smirking too, once your eyes had finally made their way back up to hers. You only offered a small tilt of your head in acknowledgement.

Carol stood. She placed a few coins down on the bar, enough to cover her own tab, yours, and a little more. She offered you a hand. You were confident, cocky even. You weren't one bit afraid of this woman. You put your hand into hers and let her pull you to your feet. She led you away from your stool, out the door, and into the bright sunlight of the planet. Then she kept going, moving away from the bar and leading you down the streets. At some point your fingers had intertwined with hers and now you were walking hand in hand down the streets.

"You know I didn't need anyone to save me from that guy, right?"

"A thanks might have sufficed," she replied.

"It might have," you agreed.

Finally, you both arrived back at the landing strips. She led you right back to your own pod. You hadn't yet paid the fee for having kept it parked there for the last hour and a half but, judging from the look on Carol's face, you weren't going anywhere just yet. This time it was you leading as you pulled her on board, closing the hatch behind you. Once it was closed you moved.

Your hands moved and took Carol's waist, pulling her close to you. Her body was flush against yours, her hands in your hair, as she kissed you back. She let out a soft noise as you pushed her against the wall behind her. You smirked against her lips. It was a long moment before Carol pushed you away breathlessly. But you weren't done.

Your lips moved down to her neck, bringing the skin between your lips as you sucked roughly at it. It was a full moan that tumbled from her lips this time. You wanted to laugh in victory, but instead you released the skin, running your tongue softly over the mark you'd left on her. You moved back up to her lips and pecked them once, pulling back to glance into those light brown irises.

"That all you got then, Y/N?"

"I thought you didn't know my name."

Carol rolled her eyes. "Sorry, love. I could call you Captain if you wanted."

You put a hand against her cheek. "That would be extraordinarily hot."

Carol laughed. She put her lips against yours again, kissing you once more. She spun the both of you so that you traded places. This time it was your back against the wall. You leaned into it without much fight, letting her take her turn controlling the pace of the kiss. When you finally separated, she rest her forehead against yours.

"I love you."

You laughed. "We just met."

"Oh, fuck off," she laughed too.

You brought her hand into yours, thumb gliding across the ring you'd put on her finger five years ago. Her eyes darted to the identical one on yours. Her smirk faded into a smile and she brought you hand up to her lips, kissing your knuckles softly. You leaned a little further into her touch, pecking her lips once more.

"I love you, too," you muttered against her.

She laughed. She put two fingers beneath your chin, tilting your gaze up to meet hers. You loved those eyes with that cunning sparkle in light brown irises that you'd fallen so hard for all those years ago. Just as she was about to kiss you once again, there was a banging on the outside of the pod. You huffed in frustration.

You didn't even bother going out. You quickly transferred the fee you owed electronically. The banging stopped, and so you assumed everything had gone through without a problem. You shoved the small device back into your pocket and then turned your attention back to Carol. She was watching you with amusement sparking in her eyes.

"You're cute when you're angry," she commented.

"Yeah, yeah," you rolled your eyes. "We should get out of here before someone, you know, chases me off the planet."

Carol laughed, she put her arms around your waist. "I'm Captain Marvel. I can't let some thief get away with stealing valuables. Maybe they shouldn't have run."

"Just doin' my job, darlin'," you chuckled, arms resting on her shoulders and hands linking loosely behind her neck.

She hummed softly at that, kissing you again. It had been five years and her touch still made you melt. You were sure another five years could pass and that still wouldn't have changed. Your eyes fluttered shut and your lips moved with hers and the world could have disappeared around you and you wouldn't have noticed. But it didn't. There was banging on the door again.

"I need this spot!" The attendant shouted from the other side of the door.

You huffed. You forced yourself to peel away from Carol's body. You took a seat in front of the controls, and Carol took the one next to you. You started everything up, checking that they'd recharged the battery while you'd been there. Once you were sure of everything, you lay a hand on Carol's thigh and glanced out the front window.

"Take us away, Athena," you said.

"Roger that, Captain Danvers." 

[choerrypuffs]

my best friend wants to be abducted by aliens.

pairing: son of athena!renjun x daughter of aphrodite!reader

genre: fluff, angst

word count: 14.6k (this was supposed to be 5k 😌)

author’s note: hi so here is renjun’s chapter to my 00 line x camp half-blood series (i’m sorry, i know it took forever)! thank you so much for all of the support, and i hope you enjoy 💞

warning: one (1) makeout session

You are currently crouched behind a cluster of bushes, trying to get a glimpse of your targets through binoculars. 

Does that sound stalkerish? Perhaps. 

Are you actually a stalker? Debatable. 

However, no matter how suspicious it looks, your motive is pure—for the most part. 

You’re spying on Kang Daniel (son of Hermes) and Park Jihyo (daughter of Apollo), both of whom are at the Archery Range. Jihyo is showing Daniel how to shoot, encasing him with her arms as she nocks the arrow for him. The tips of his ears are so red that they could practically be a flare; you can see how flamboyant they are all the way from your hiding spot. 

You start grinning like a maniac, excited that your plan is finally unfolding. 

You had noticed how awful Daniel was at archery during a training session a couple weeks ago, and you casually suggested to him that he should ask Jihyo for some lessons. You’ve always known that Daniel has been hopelessly in love with Jihyo since the moment he saw her (it’s a child of Aphrodite thing—you can just sense it), but she’s been oblivious to it this entire time. 

Well, until now. 

Just as you guessed, sparks flew immediately. You could cut the sexual tension between them with a knife. You give them a couple more passionately-charged archery lessons before they inevitably surrender to their emotions and begin to date—and your predictions are never wrong. 

“Another job well done, Y/N,” you mumble proudly to yourself, “Mom would be so proud.”

“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m going to have to ask you to stop loitering by these bushes and stalking those two campers over there, or else I’ll have to report you to the camp director,” a sudden voice from behind you says. 

Letting out a loud yelp, you drop your binoculars in surprise and whip your head around to see who it is. You turn so fast that you almost fall backwards into said bushes, quickly using your palms to balance yourself. 

“Renjun, you asshole!” 

Huang Renjun, your long-time best friend and professional asshole, is standing in front of you. He’s wearing the iconic orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt with black jeans, his hands tucked inside his pockets. His dark hair is parted to one side, with a single lock of hair falling perfectly into one eye, giving him the I-wake-up-and-my-hair-is-naturally-like-this look (even though it’s most definitely not true). No doubt that he’s the best-looking person in the entire camp, but his brusque personality makes him a rose with thorns. Sharp thorns.

You often wonder how the two of you even became as close as you are. Children of Athena and Aphrodite notoriously clash due to their mothers’ history with each other. 

You met Renjun four years ago at Arts and Crafts Center, which is a hotspot for children of Athena. It was your first time at the camp, and you wanted to try making a ceramic (maybe a bowl or vase) to bring back to your family as a souvenir. Of course, you failed miserably and got snickered at by other Athena kids. Renjun, who had been sitting beside you, was the only one who didn’t laugh. He even gruffly gave you some pointers. Grateful, you complimented his painting—a mix of pink, yellow, blue, and purple watercolors that meshed together to resemble a galaxy. In return, he gave it to you.

“It’s not my best work, so you can have it,” he had said nonchalantly.

Even though it was the most beautiful piece of art you’ve ever seen, and it’s remained one of your most prized possessions to this day. 

After that incident, you basically attached yourself at the hip with him. He would constantly complain about you following him around, but he also didn’t do anything to stop it. He’s been complaining for four, going on five, years now, yet he’s become your closest friend. Renjun likes act like you’re a pain in the ass (which isn’t untrue), but you know he cares about you. Even if he doesn’t verbalize it, you can tell by his actions; it’s all about the small things with him. Despite being rough around the edges, Huang Renjun is actually just a big softie on the inside. 

“—could you stop snooping around like a weirdo?” Renjun asks, cutting your trip down memory lane short.

You rise to your feet, dusting your palms off and glaring at him. “I’m not snooping around like a weirdo. I’m just snooping around on one of my projects, like a good matchmaker.”

“Sure,” he says, rolling his eyes. He leans down and picks up your binoculars, handing them to you. 

You take them and hang them around your neck. “Why are you here anyway?”

“Aren’t you the one who asked me to meet you at the Dining Pavilion for lunch?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“Oh, sorry! I lost track of time,” you exclaim. “How’d you find me?”

Renjun gives you a pointed look. “Well, seeing as how Daniel and Jihyo are your current quote-unquote project, all I had to do was figure out where they were because I knew you’d be somewhere close.”

You give him a sheepish smile. “You know me so well, Junnie.”

“The hell? Don’t call me that, it’s gross,” he snaps, pretending like he’s about to gag.

“You’re not cute at all,” you huff. 

“Neither are you,” he replies.

“You are so rude! You’ll never get a girlfriend with an attitude like that!” You place your hands on your hips.

“I’ll live,” he says, shrugging. 

You don’t know much about Renjun’s love life because he refuses to tell you anything; he’s like a stubborn clam that won’t open up. However, he’s made it very clear that he does not want your assistance when it comes to finding romance. Obviously, it hasn’t stopped you from trying, but this is one of the few things you can’t seem to make him give in to. 

Yet.

“Whatever,” you sigh. “Let’s go eat.”

The two of you walk to the Dining Pavilion, which is a relatively long walk from the Archery Range, but you make enough conversation that it feels short. When you arrive, you see that they’re serving chicken curry and rice. Your stomach growls embarrassingly loudly when the mouthwatering scent hits you, which prompts Renjun to laugh at you. You give him the middle finger and then turn around to grab a lunch tray. Once you get your food, you two sit at a table in the back. 

Before you begin to eat, you notice that your curry has chunks of potatoes and slices of carrots on it—you abhor carrots more than anything in this world. Noticing your disgusted expression, Renjun slides his plate over without even batting an eyelash, so you can pick out the carrot slices and give them to him. It’s a routine thing for the two of you, since you’re an extremely picky eater and he’s not.

After you take out all of the carrots, you begin to devour your food. You’re wolfing it down so fast that you’re basically asking to choke, in which you immediately do. A piece of chicken lodges itself in your throat, and you begin to cough violently. Renjun sighs, patting your back before handing you your cup of water. 

“I feel like I’m babysitting a toddler every time I eat with you,” he points out as you gulp down your water. 

“Thanks,” you say after you recover.

“For dislodging the food in your esophagus or calling you a toddler?” 

“Both!�� you say cheerfully. 

Renjun shakes his head at you, but he’s smiling. You take advantage of his good mood by quickly reaching over and swiping a couple of grapes from the fruit bowl on his tray. He rolls his eyes when you pop them into your mouth and wink at him. 

“Um, Renjun?” A small, different voice cuts in. Both of you turn around to see who it is. 

Hwang Yeji, daughter of Iris and one of the most popular girls at the camp, is standing there. She’s fidgeting, and you can see pink dusting her cheeks. Her friends are at the table right behind her, giving her supportive looks. She smiles shyly at Renjun. 

“Can I help you?” Renjun asks, deadpanning. He isn’t rude per se, but it’s also not a friendly tone. 

Yeji slightly falters at his lackluster response. “Oh, um, I’m going to be performing at the amphitheater tonight...and I was wondering if you could come watch?”

“Why?” 

You know Renjun is asking because he’s genuinely baffled, but it doesn’t lessen your urge to want to slap him upside the head.

“N-No particular reason! O-Okay, bye!” Yeji turns on her heel and runs away. You watch her go back to her table, head hung low in defeat.

“What was that all about?” Renjun is still bewildered. 

No longer able to control yourself, you punch him in the arm. “You moron!”

“Ow! What the hell, Y/N?” he hisses, rubbing his arm.

“She invited you to watch her perform because she likes you!” you hiss. 

“What? No, she doesn’t.” He furrows his eyebrows. 

“Yes, she does! I should know of all people, you dingus. Even without powers, literally anyone else would be able to see that Yeji likes you!” You’re trying your best to keep your voice down, but he’s making it difficult for you. “You are the densest person on the planet!”

“Look who’s talking,” Renjun mutters underneath his breath. 

“I can’t believe you just blew her off like that,” you continue, not hearing what he said.

“How was I supposed to know she liked me? I’ve never even spoken to her,” he protests.

You stare at him in disbelief. “Couldn’t you tell by the context clues?” 

“What context clues?”

“Oh my gods,” you groan, covering your face with your hands.

“What do you want me to do then?” he asks tiredly. 

“Go to her performance tonight,” you say immediately, uncovering your face and whipping your head to look at him with a hopeful expression.

“I don’t really want to though. There’s no point in getting her hopes up if I don’t like her back,” Renjun states matter-of-factly.

“How do you not even have a little bit of interest in her? Look at her! She’s stunning!” You feel like your eyes are about to pop out of your head.

“I’m not saying she isn’t, but I just don’t feel anything special towards her,” he explains. 

“You’re actually insane,” you say incredulously. “There’s no way someone can look at Hwang Yeji and say they don’t feel anything special.”

“If you feel so strongly about it, you could date her,” he suggests.

“No, I’ve decided,” you cut him off, slamming your hand on the table with determination. “I’m going to find you a girlfriend.”

“I’ll have to respectfully decline your services,” he answers, sighing.

“Give me one week,” you plead, “all of my matches have worked out within a week. Please, Renjun? The worst thing that can happen is that you actually like someone and you two become a couple.” 

“And what if it doesn’t work out?” He tilts his head.

“Then, I’ll drop the girlfriend topic for good. I swear on River Styx. And I’ll also give up my title as Camp Half-Blood’s official matchmaker,” you promise.

“You gave yourself that title.”

“Shut up.”

“Why are you so adamant on finding me a girlfriend anyway?” he asks.

“Because you’re so set on not getting a girlfriend, and that drives me crazy. I want to know just who on this Earth can make you feel something special, if even Yeji can’t do it. I want to crack you, like a walnut,” you admit.

“Bad analogy.”

“Yeah, it sounded better in my head.”

Renjun falls quiet, and you can practically see the gears turning in his head as he weighs the pros and cons of your proposition. Athena kids think way too much and way too loudly; they need to let loose and follow their hearts more.

You sit in anticipation for just a little longer before you see the tension on his face begin to dissipate and his features begin to droop. It’s an expression you know well; he’s going to let you have your way, like he always does. 

He pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. “You get five days. That’s it.”

You squeal loudly, launching yourself at him so you can envelop him in a big bear hug. He grunts as he catches you, saving the both of you from toppling backwards onto the floor. “You’re the best, Renjun!”

Even when he’s irritated or annoyed, Renjun never pushes you away when you hug him. He isn’t exactly the affectionate type, yet his embrace is always so warm and calming. His words may be cutthroat, but his actions are always gentle.

He circles his arms around your waist loosely as he sighs into your hair, seemingly waiting for you to pull back to face him before he says anything. When you do, he flicks you on the forehead instead.

Okay, so you take the his actions are always gentle part back.

“Ouch!” You shrug yourself out of his hold, rubbing the probably reddening spot on your forehead.

“Payback for punching me earlier,” Renjun says, crossing his arms. “But are you sure about this?”

“What do you mean?” 

“You have a perfect record when it comes to your matches. Plus, you’re losing two out of your usual seven days. Are you sure you want to risk breaking your streak?” he asks. 

“What makes you think it’ll get broken?” you shoot back.

“I don’t just think; I know it will,” he smirks arrogantly. “That’s why I’m asking.”

You feel your left eye twitch. Riled up by his cocky demeanor, you grab your cup and chug the rest of your water, wincing like you just downed a shot. Wiping your mouth, you point your finger at him.

“Huang Renjun, just you wait. I’ll make you fall in love so hard that you’ll forget your own name.”

ও DAY ONE.

The Athena Cabin is a marvel to you every time you enter it. Rather than a cabin, it’s a workshop and a library in one on the inside. There are beds pushed haphazardly against the walls, and if you didn’t know that this was the official Athena Cabin, you would’ve thought that the Athena children had simply just crashed at a random facility at the camp and decided to call it their place of residence. 

Renjun is still asleep, despite the commotion of his brothers and sisters running around in the library and/or constructing something in the workshop. His bed is located in the very back, hidden by a bookshelf that’s not frequented often. He’s curled up into a ball, with the blanket covering his head but you can still see tufts of his hair sticking out from under it. 

“Rise and shine!” you sing, lifting blanket off his face. 

His peaceful expression twists with discomfort as its exposed to light, and he immediately rips the pillow out from under his head and puts it over his face. He says something to you, but his words are muffled. You just assume it’s some sort of profanity. 

“Come on, Sleeping Beauty! We have business to attend to,” you say cheerfully, taking the pillow away and tossing it to the foot of his bed.

“And what exactly is this supposed business?” Renjun asks dryly, opening his eyes and squinting up at you. 

“We’re going to scout for potential candidates for you,” you answer as you grab his arm and pull him up. He reluctantly lets you, slumping forward like a limp puppet. 

“Isn’t that your job?” He raises an eyebrow, running a hand through his messy bedhead. Renjun always looks particularly adorable when he wakes up. His pajamas consist of a pair of basketball shorts and an extremely stretched-out t-shirt. The shirt is so big that it’s slipping off his shoulder, which makes him look like a little kid. His hair is sticking up in all sorts of directions, and you can’t help but grin at how cute it is. 

“Yes, but you’re a special case.” You talk to him like he’s five, running your hands through his hair and messing it up even more. Renjun scowls at you, but he sits there and lets you do it.

“Geez, who peed in your cornflakes?” you tease, seeing his stormy look. 

“You.”

“Okay, fine! I’ll wait for you outside, but don’t take too long to get ready,” you say, finally retracting your hands. “No more than thirty minutes or else I’m gonna come find you!” 

He gives you another nasty look, and you blow him a kiss before skipping away. As you head back to the entrance, you greet a couple of Athena kids who pass by. Normally, Aphrodite and Athena children stick their noses up in the air and ignore each other, but you’re such a frequent visitor that they have had no choice but to accept you. It also helps that Renjun is quite popular, so the campers that don’t like you are forced to tolerate you anyway because you’re his best friend. 

That’s another thing you don’t understand—why Renjun hangs out with you when everyone around him is practically foaming at the mouth at the prospect of being his friend (or something more). But for reasons unknown to you, he chooses to ice them out and spend time with you instead.

It’s not that you’re inherently unpopular or someone that would “tarnish” his reputation, but he could probably find someone that annoyed him less and didn’t cause as much trouble as you do. However, you’re glad that he’s choosing to stay by your side in spite of how crazy you can get, because you’re not really sure what you would do without him. 

Not that you would ever admit that because Renjun would roast you to high Olympus.  

As if on cue, you spot Renjun trudging toward you. True to your request, he got ready within thirty minutes. In fact, it only took him about fifteen. He doesn’t look very happy, but he’s always had a resting bitch face (though you’re pretty sure he’s just pissed at you right now).

Strangely, you’re a little embarrassed to see him. You’re not sure why you suddenly thought of your friendship with him and got all sappy. You’ve never really been good at handling the mushy-gushy stuff—only helping others find it.

“Let’s get this over with,” Renjun says begrudgingly when he reaches you, crossing his arms.

“Okay, well, first thing’s first,” you respond, trying to get back on track. You loop your arm through his, which prompts him to instantly uncross his own so you can cling onto his bicep. It’s such a natural action for you that you don’t even think about how quickly he accommodates you. “What’s your type?”

“Where are we going?” he asks, furrowing his eyebrows as he lets you lead him around.

“That depends on your answer to my question,” you reply breezily.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the one who figures that out? You know, with your whole Aphrodite-love-sense-tingle thing.” 

You ignore his dig at your ability. “Normally, yes. But seeing as you’re incapable of feeling any emotion other than bitterness, I have to directly ask you.” 

He laughs at your comeback. “I see. But even if I do tell you my type, what makes you think she will like me too?” 

“If she doesn’t, then just woo her with your irresistible charm,” you say sarcastically. 

“My irresistible charm has a tendency to make people hate my guts, actually,” Renjun says, shrugging. “Wouldn’t want that, would we?” 

“Renjun, you are fully capable of making a girl fall for you,” you chide, huffing at his negative attitude. “I’m not concerned with that. My main issue right now is finding someone that will make you care enough to want her to like you back.”

“You think so?” he asks quietly, looking down at where your hand is resting on his arm.

“Hm?” 

“I hope you’re right,” he says a little louder, dragging his gaze away from your hand and giving you a small smile. “About being capable.”

When Renjun looks into your eyes, you feel him for the first time. Your heart wrenches with his, like a knife was driven into it and something keeps twisting it. It’s an excruciating pain that makes your lungs want to cave in, a pain so unbearably sad that it makes you want to assume fetal position and bawl your eyes out, an exhausting pain that drains you of all your energy until you want to collapse, a pain that makes you hate yourself—but it’s a pain you never want to get rid of. It’s a pain that makes you happy. It’s a pain you’re willing to endure for...for...for what? 

But the pain only lasts for a moment, flashing by like lightning. As you try to reach deeper, it slips through your fingers. Just as suddenly as it hit you, it vanishes. What remains in its place is the metaphorical iron wall that you always seem to run into every time you try to look into Renjun’s heart.

You can already feel your body starting to forget the pain. It’s so fast that you begin questioning if you even truly felt it in the first place, or if it was all some fever dream. You could also be having a stroke, so there’s that.

All jokes aside, you’re not sure what you’re more surprised by: the fact that Renjun has been feeling like this or how well he’s managed to hide it. 

And you’re not sure what you’re more hurt by: the fact that Renjun didn’t tell you or if you’re the one he’s trying to hide it from.

“—hello? Y/N? Earth to Y/N?” Renjun waves his hand in front of your face. 

You jolt, blinking several times as you detach yourself from your whirlwind of thoughts. “S-Sorry! What were you saying?”

“What’s wrong?” he asks, brows furrowing in concern. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

“Ghosts don’t exist,” you retort automatically.

“Yes, they do! How many times have I told you there’s no way that my glass bottle could’ve fallen from my bed without shattering, yet it was underneath my bed, completely and totally unsc—” He begins to protest. 

You cut him off by wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him in for a hug. Thankfully, Renjun stops rambling about his ghost story that you’ve heard about a million times and trails off. His hands slowly come to rest on the small of your back, giving you soothing pats. It makes you sad that he’s always ready to comfort you when he’s the one that needs it. Your vision gets blurry with tears, but you hurriedly blink them away.

“How can you be so smart yet so dumb?” you whisper into his shoulder, clutching him tighter.

“You know, you’re sending me mixed signals here,” he says wryly. 

You hug him for a couple more seconds before pulling back. Reaching your hands up, you cup his face. Unfortunately, you do it a little too enthusiastically and basically slap both of his cheeks. “Shit! I’m so sorry, Renjun!” 

“Ow! What is wrong with you?” he demands, wincing. His lips are adorably jutted out and his words probably aren’t as angry as he wants them to be because you’re squishing his cheeks way too hard. 

“I just wanted to tell you that I will definitely find you a girlfriend. No matter what,” you declare with determination in your eyes.

Because I don’t want you to be in pain anymore. Because you deserve to be happy. Because you should have someone to lean on too, you want to say.

Renjun is staring at you like you’ve grown another head. “Y/N, you’re scaring me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you dismiss. “Now, hurry up and tell me your ideal type.”

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” 

“Oh my gods, I’m fine. Stop with all the questions and just answer me!” you say, placing your hands on your hips.

“I think I’m starting to reconsider my ideal type right now,” he replies, eyeing you suspiciously. 

You sigh loudly. “Could you tell me one character trait that you would like in a girlfriend? Just one. Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

He snorts, and you begin to grow frustrated. “Renjun—”

“Stubborn,” he answers. 

You raise an eyebrow. “Of all the things you could’ve chosen, you went with that?”

“I finally answer your question and now you’re shaming me for it?” he shoots back. 

You put your hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, okay, sorry. Anything else you can think of?”

“Unpredictable. Hotheaded. Infuriating. Nosy. Reckless. Unable to take anything seriously. No concept of personal space,” he lists them off like he’s has it memorized.

“These are all terrible traits,” you point out, frowning. 

“Tell me about it.”

“Stop messing around,” you snap, giving him a small shove. “Some positive ones, please.”

Renjun pauses. “This might take a second.”

You give him a pointed look, crossing your arms and tapping your foot impatiently. At this point, you’re not even sure if he’s just joking or if he actually means it. However, it’s the only thing you’ve gotten out of him so far, so you have to work with it. 

“Dedicated,” he finally says after some intense pondering.

You exhale in relief. “Thank gods. What else?”

“Kind. Cheerful. Carefree. Funny. Always makes me smile. Marches to her own beat. An open book when it comes to her feelings. Says whatever is on her mind without thinking twice. Gets excited about things that don’t matter. Has a wonderful laugh. Able to see the good in me, even though I’m an asshole—”

As he continues, you eventually stop paying attention to his words and watch his expression. All of his features have softened, and there’s a warmth in his eyes that you’ve never seen before. He has the gentlest smile on his face as he talks, but you’re not even sure that he’s aware of it. 

You wouldn’t be a child of Aphrodite if you couldn’t recognize a boy in love, and Renjun certainly fits the bill. 

Suddenly, you feel an ugly sensation twisting in the pit of your stomach, coiling like a poisonous snake. It’s an awful feeling, and it makes you ashamed because it resembles jealousy way too closely for your comfort. You hate feeling like this, but you don’t know how to stop it. In fact, you don’t even know why you’re feeling this way. It’s foreign to you, but you know it’s not coming from Renjun. This is all coming from inside you.

“Stunning in every way,” Renjun finishes quietly. His voice is barely a whisper, but you can hear it clearly, as if it’s right in your ear. 

Digging your nails into your palms, you let out a low whistle. “That was very...specific.”

“Afraid of a challenge?” he counters, smirking. 

His banter makes you grin. It’s almost enough to make you forget the feeling in your stomach. You wonder why you keep getting worked up by yourself. Maybe the summer heat is getting to you, and you really are on the verge of having a stroke. 

“It’s like you don’t even know me,” you retort dramatically, clinging onto his arm again. “Alright, let’s go!” 

“Where?” 

“The Training Grounds!” 

“Why there?” His nose crinkles. 

“Your ideal type is as Ares kid as it can get,” you say, snorting. “So, obviously, we’re going to their turf.” 

“Ares children are obnoxious and arrogant,” Renjun scoffs. 

“And you’re a smartass, so it’ll be fine,” you say breezily. 

He rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath. 

“You’re such a drama queen. Besides, it won’t be only Ares kids there,” you point out.

He shrugs in a noncommittal manner but ultimately lets you lead him to the Training Grounds. When you arrive, as expected, it’s mainly Ares kids there. For people who aren’t used to it, the Training Grounds could be mistaken for a battle royale, judging by how vicious it can get at times. Even though it’s just a bunch of sweaty young adults angrily swinging swords at dummies and each other. 

Stroking your chin, you begin to scan the area. It’s only when your eyes fall onto Park Sooyoung, the daughter of Ares that’s infamous for making men cower to their knees, that the lightbulb goes off in your head. 

“What about Sooyoung?” you ask excitedly, tugging on Renjun’s shirt. 

He frowns. “She hates me.”

“You don’t know that,” you say.

“She tried to throw a dagger at my head once,” he states flatly. 

“She does that to everyone,” you dismiss. “I think you two would work well together.”

“Please, enlighten me.” 

“She could be the brawn to your brain. She’s super rambunctious, while you’re more reserved and can keep her in check. But she’ll be able to teach you how to live a little, and you’ll just perfectly balance each other out. You know, that whole opposites attract and enemies to lovers trope,” you explain. 

“Enemies to lovers?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Yes,” you say dreamily, “You two start off absolutely despising each other, but neither of you can fight the tension building and eventually just get entangled in the throes of your passion!”

“Okay, Fifty Shades of Grey, calm down,” Renjun says, scrunching up his features in disgust. “Stop writing fanfiction in your head and come back to the real world.”

You glare at him for killing your vibe. “Just go and try to talk to her.”

“I don’t want to be mauled.” There’s actually a small glimmer of fear in his eyes. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s not gonna kill you. At least not in front of everyone like this,” you reassure him. 

“So you’re admitting that there is a possibility she would kill me.”

Fed up, you snatch his wrist and begin dragging him. He makes noises of protest, but you keep a vice-like grip on him. Sooyoung is sparring with some of her brothers (and frankly, handing their asses to them). You’re envious of how beautiful she is even with sweat dripping from her chin and tendrils of hair stuck to her neck. Her face is flushed with effort, but it makes her look like a peach. 

However, don’t ever judge a book by its cover because she proceeds to lift one of her brothers, as if she’s bench pressing him, and tosses him aside like a rag doll. He comes flying directly toward you, but Renjun wraps an arm around your shoulders and yanks you aside with his surprisingly quick reflexes. Sooyoung’s brother lands with a hard thud, right beside your feet.

Renjun holds you tightly against him as he scowls at Sooyoung, who is smirking at him. Your heart is pounding wildly, though you’re not sure if it’s from the adrenaline rush of one of Sooyoung’s brothers hurling towards you like a projectile or the way Renjun is cradling you to him.

“Are you out of your mind?” Renjun demands, livid. 

“Sorry about that,” Sooyoung says, trying to hide her amusement. 

“No, you’re not. You did it on purpose,” Renjun snaps. 

“Remove head from ass, Huang. If I didn’t think you’d be able to get her out of the way in time, I wouldn’t have done it,” Sooyoung responds, sounding bored.

“What if I hadn’t? Your tank of a brother would’ve knocked Y/N out,” Renjun says angrily, gritting his teeth. “And trust me, she doesn’t need any more screws loose than she already has.”

“Hey!” you chime in, offended. His arm falls from your shoulders and back to his side when you give him a dirty look. He seems a little surprised, whether the reason be from your sudden protest or how long his arm’s been around you. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sooyoung says, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, what do you want? You’re here to see me, right?” 

Renjun opens his mouth to say something, but you slap a hand over his mouth. “Renjun thinks you’re really pretty and wants to train with you.”

Perhaps you could have delivered it in a smoother manner.

“Mm?” He stares at you with wide, horrified eyes. He’s trying to speak, but it’s all muffled by your palm. 

Sooyoung snorts, crossing her arms and tilting her head. “Does he now?” 

“Yes. He’s just too shy to admit it,” you lie through your teeth. 

“Mhm, I’m sure he is,” she laughs. “What’s the actual reason you’re here?”

“Whatever are you talking about? That is the reason,” you answer sweetly. “So, what do you say? Wanna spar him?”

“Mmmmmm!” Renjun has you by the wrist, trying to remove your hand from his mouth, but you won’t budge. 

“You must think I was born yesterday,” Sooyoung sighs. “You’re trying to set us up together, right? Glad to see you’re sticking to your whole matchmaking schtick.”

“Maybe,” you admit sheepishly. “Also, it is not a schtick! I have a natural affinity for finding people that are compatible with each other, like all Aphrodite children, and it is my duty to use that ability in order to help others.”

Despite how proud you look, Sooyoung and Renjun exchange knowing glances, and she reaches forward and gives him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Stray strong, soldier.”

“Mm,” he responds, sounding tired.

You watch the interaction with a baffled expression. Neither one of them seems intent on providing any context for you. You’re hit with another pang of jealousy. 

“While it would be my utmost honor to be Renjun’s girlfriend, I will have to decline. Firstly, because I would definitely murder him by our third date tops. And secondly, because I already have a girlfriend,” Sooyoung says nonchalantly. 

Your hand goes limp and falls off of Renjun’s mouth, finally freeing him. Your jaw is hanging wide open, a direct invitation for flies. The both of you just stand there and gawk at her. 

“What?” you exclaim, grabbing her by the shoulders. “You have a girlfriend?”

Most Aphrodite kids are just naturally aware of all the couples at Camp Half-Blood whenever they see them, but you make it a point to keep tabs on them so you can avoid incidents like this while you’re trying to find matches for others. Clearly, you’ve missed one. 

“Ye—”

“Who is it?” you demand, resisting the urge to shake her until her bones rattle. “How could I not know about it?”

“Well, that was the goal,” Sooyoung explains, “we want it to be a secret.”

You’re gripping her so tightly that the tips of your fingers have turned white, though you’re sure it doesn’t bother her since she’s pure muscle. You want to know who it is so badly, but you respect her privacy, so you decide to let it go. Even if you really don’t want to.

“I understand,” you say solemnly, begrudgingly releasing her. Your body is slightly twitchy as you fight to control your need to snoop. 

“You look like you’re about to pass out,” Renjun cuts in, half-joking and half-concerned. 

“Today has not gone well for me,” you sigh, spirit crushed by the sudden news and exhausted because of your weird mood swings that have been happening. “I’m hot, and I just want a nice, cold shower, followed by some nice, cold ice cream, and then followed by a nice, warm nap. We’ll try this again tomorrow.” 

“Want me to walk you back to your cabin?” Renjun asks. 

You nod, shoulders slumped in defeat. “Sorry to bother you, Sooyoung.”

“No problem. You’ll get ‘em next time,” Sooyoung says, trying to sound encouraging. 

As you turn to pitifully walk away, you notice Sooyoung and Renjun exchange another look in your peripheral. She gives him a thumbs up and he smiles wryly before he also turns to follow you.

It’s just the icing on the cake for your awful day. 

The walk back to your cabin is pretty quiet; Renjun sensing your foul mood and making the wise decision of letting you pout all by your lonesome (not that he’s much of a chatterbox anyway). You’re looking down at your feet as you walk, and he kindly navigates you through crowds and moves you out of the way when campers run by. This is something Renjun does often, since you have a tendency to not pay much attention to your surroundings on a regular basis, so you don’t even think twice about it. 

When you finally arrive, Renjun gives you a comforting pat on the back. “See you tomorrow. I’ll meet you here. Do not barge into my cabin and give me another rude awakening like you did today.”

You give him a strained smile and wink. “No promises.”

Of course, your act doesn’t fool him. He sighs. “Did it really bother you that much that Sooyoung managed to hide her relationship from you? It’s not like you to be so down after one failure.”

Honestly, that’s the least of your concerns right now. Did it hurt your pride? Yes, but you’ve recovered from a wounded pride countless times. 

What bothers you the most right now is the vile jealousy that you’ve stored in your heart. How shitty you felt when he was describing his ideal type (and how absolutely lovestruck he looked), or how bitter you were when you saw that Sooyoung and Renjun were in on something you weren’t. It eats away at you, seemingly within moments, before you even know what’s happening. But why? Where is it all coming from?

This is Renjun you’re talking about. Renjun, your best friend. Renjun, the one who’s always there for you. Renjun, the closest person to you other than your bloodline. 

Or so you thought. 

The pain that you felt from him earlier still haunts you, even if it’s faint. You’ve always seen Renjun as someone you can confide in, no matter what, yet it doesn’t appear like he feels the same towards you. In fact, an irrational part of you thinks you may be the one he’s trying to keep it from. 

And the paranoid part of you thinks Sooyoung knows about it too.

You know it’s horrible to think that, but you can’t control it. Renjun isn’t required to tell you everything he feels just because you do, not that it doesn’t hurt any less. It just bugs you that there could be someone closer to him than even you, which is an incredibly toxic mindset to have. You’re upset by the fact that you’re so possessive of him, yet you can’t seem to let him go either. 

I guess it’s alright if it’s Sooyoung, you admit to yourself, since she has a girlfriend.

You blink.

Wait, what? 

Before you can figure out what the hell your brain meant by that, you feel Renjun place his hand on your forehead. It jars you from your thoughts and you come back to reality, where Renjun is staring at you with furrowed brows as he checks your temperature. 

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You’ve been spacing out all day,” he says, clearly worried.

“F-Fine!” you answer way too enthusiastically. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he dismisses. “Just go get some rest.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” you nod hurriedly, giving him a two-finger salute. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early! Don’t oversleep!” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he waves you off, smiling. You can tell he’s still concerned, but your brighter attitude relieves him just a tad. “Oh, and Y/N?” 

“Mhm?”

“I forgot to mention one more trait for my ideal type.”

“What is it?” You wish you had never asked him in the first place. Just when your mood was getting a little better, it sours just as quickly. 

“Dense,” he adds. 

You give him a puzzled look. “Huh?”

“I want her to be dense,” he states simply. 

“No way,” you argue, when his words finally register. “How is it gonna work out if both of you are dense as hell?”

“Who knows? Maybe our denseness will cancel each other out, and we’ll fall in love instantly,” he shrugs.

“Of course. PEMDAS and shit,” you jokingly agree.

“Exactly,” he says, nodding with a deadpan expression. 

You laugh loudly—a big belly laugh that makes Renjun beam. The tension eases off his features, and he seems much more reassured. Your heart swells at how hard he’s trying to make sure you’re okay, not that he would ever admit that.

“Okay, for real now. Bye, Y/N.” He gives you a lazy wave before walking away, shattering your touching moment. 

You huff at how he turned around without even letting you respond, though you still wave back (even if he can’t see it), and go back into your cabin. The moment the door closes behind you, you make a beeline for the shower. Peeling off your sweat-soaked clothes, you close your eyes in bliss when the cold water hits you. 

As you let the water run down your body, you begin to feel more and more like a petulant child that just threw the biggest tantrum ever. You’re embarrassed that you overreacted like that and got so emotional for no reason. You chide yourself for being selfish. Just because you’re upset that Renjun doesn’t confide in you the way you do him, it doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t have someone. You should be happy for him when he finds a person he can fully open up to, even more so than you. Isn’t that what you’re trying to do for him right now? 

You shut the water off before slapping your cheeks hard, giving yourself a wake up call. Resolving to be more composed tomorrow, you decide to just take a nap for now as you change into comfortable clothes and dry your hair off. 

When you get to your bed, you see a small bowl of ice cream on your nightstand. Luckily, your shower didn’t take too long, so it’s still relatively frozen. It’s two scoops of chocolate, which is your favorite. You’re so excited that you almost miss the note tucked underneath the bowl. 

don’t know when you’re going to get out of the shower, so this might just be soup by the time you’re out. if that’s the case, drink it anyways since i went through the trouble of getting it. 

You snort. It’s so like Renjun to write a tactless note like this and not even bother signing off on it. If he’s going to be sweet, he shouldn’t ruin the moment by doing what he always does—opening his mouth (figuratively, in this case). 

But it’s not enough to wipe that big grin off your face, as you carefully fold up the note and put it in your drawer. 

He’s not cute at all.

ও DAY TWO.

The next day is about as successful as the first one, if not worse.

You had woken up with a game plan. Before you went to meet Renjun, you drafted up a list of campers that matched his ideal type (for the most part, since he was a little too specific). The goal was to narrow it down to a couple names before trying to march in head first, since that went disastrously yesterday. 

Unfortunately, instead of things going smoothly like you had hoped, you find yourself banging your head against a tabletop repeatedly.

You and Renjun are currently sitting in the library of the Athena Cabin, having been there for almost an hour now. He’s nearly eliminated your entire list that you so meticulously curated this morning. You’re starting to wonder if he’s purposefully being difficult just to see you riled up.

Renjun watches you hit your head a couple more times before outstretching his hand, catching your forehead in his palm and blocking you from hitting it against the table again. “Stop before you bleed all over the table, and I get stuck scrubbing it out later.”

You raise your head to glare at him. “I’ll show you bleeding all over the table.”

He doesn’t even blink at your threat, infuriatingly unfazed. “Are you done with your list already?”

“No,” you grumble, “I still have some left.”

“So, if I’m not interested in the rest, does that mean we’re done for the day?” he asks.

“Haha,” you say wryly, “you wish. If you don’t pick one, then I’ll just go through the list myself and pick one that I think is the most compatible with you.”

“Damn it.”

“Okay, what about Hyun Seunghee? She’s an Apollo kid. Super talented and sweet, one of the most adorable people on the planet, and loves art just like you,” you suggest.

“Seunghee is a very sweet girl,” Renjun agrees. “But I don’t think I have the energy to keep up with her. She’s even bubblier and more hyperactive than you, and I can barely manage dealing with you.” 

Sighing, you cross out Seunghee’s name on your list while simultaneously flipping off Renjun with your other hand. “Okay, what about Lee Mijoo? She’s one of my sisters, and honestly, she’s way out of your league but I’ll keep her in the running for now.” 

You figure it’s best to not mention that, despite being way out of his league, Mijoo has expressed some very...explicit interest in Renjun before. It’ll make things awkward if they do end up talking, and you aren’t one to expose your own sister like that.

“Ew, no way, that’s weird,” Renjun says, scrunching up his nose.

“What, why?”

“I don’t want to date anyone related to you. That would make us sort of related too, and the last thing I want is to be your brother.” He spits out the word like it’s a stale piece of gum that he’s been chewing for four hours.

“First of all, slow down, tiger. You would have to marry her for us to be related. This is just a casual thing. No one said anything about marriage. Second of all, that is so mean! Why wouldn’t you want to be in-laws with me?” you demand, offended.

“Don’t most people enter relationships with the intention of spending the rest of their lives with each other?” he asks, skillfully dodging your question. “I won’t date someone if I think we’re just going to breakup down the road.”

There’s a beat of silence as you stare at him with wonder. Your lips curl into a gentle smile, and you can’t hide the adoration in your expression. Renjun truly is all bark and no bite. Who would’ve guessed there’s such a lovely and pure person behind his sharp tongue?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks warily. You swear you can see a little pink dusting the shells of his ears and the tip of his nose.

“It’s just...you’re much more of a hopeless romantic than I initially thought, Huang Renjun,” you say teasingly. 

Now, you can definitely tell he’s embarrassed. He mumbles a “shut up” under his breath, but you can barely hear it.

“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself,” you advise, “it’s totally natural to date and breakup. You can love someone with all of your heart, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be your life partner. Loosen up, my friend, and just have fun! Fall in love recklessly, and don’t think about anything else! That’s what youth is all about!”

You expect him to make fun of you for lecturing him like you’re centuries old, when the both of you can barely label yourselves as adults, but he doesn’t. 

Instead, he’s gazing at you with a deep melancholy in his eyes. You’re sitting right across from him, but the way he looks at you makes it seem like you’re galaxies away. Your gut wrenches at how hurt and helpless he seems, like he’s yearning for something that is out of his reach. 

Time seems to slow down as the two of you stare into each other’s eyes, as if you’re both entranced. It’s hard to tell how long you stay like that, but it feels like you’ve woken up in the middle of a sweet dream when Renjun finally breaks eye contact. You’re slightly disoriented, even though it’s probably only been a few seconds.

Clearing his throat, Renjun mutters, “Anyways, don’t put anymore of your siblings on the list.”

You take a moment to gather your thoughts before sighing. “Fine. But now I’ve run out of names on my list.”

“Well, gosh darn it, what a shame,” he says in a terrible Southern accent while attempting to get up. “Look’s like that’s a wrap for today!” 

“Not so fast,” you cut in, snapping your fingers at him to sit back down. “We’re not done yet.” 

He groans but reluctantly obeys, dramatically throwing his head into his arms when he does.

“Behave while I go through this list again,” you order, putting stars next to names that you’re going to force Renjun to reconsider with. 

“Now, you’re making me want to hit my head against the table,” he complains, voice muffled by his arms.

You ignore his whining, focusing on your current task at hand. Just as you finish narrowing it down to a select few, someone brushes past you and it’s like you hear angels singing. Seo Soojin, daughter of Nemesis and actual hotness personified, walks by. 

Soojin is relatively new to Camp Half-Blood, having arrived for the first time last year. You don’t know much about her personality because she keeps to herself and her tight-knit circle of friends for the most part. You know for a fact that she’s a far cry from Renjun’s type, but you’re starting to think he doesn’t really know what he wants—seeing that he shot down every single person on your list already. She will be a nice change of pace for him.

“What about Soojin?” you ask in a hushed whisper, leaning forward. 

“Who?” Renjun looks around, not lowering his voice or trying to be subtle in the slightest.

“Shhh!” you hiss, grabbing him by his shirt and yanking him forward. You pull a little too hard and end up knocking your foreheads together. 

“Ow! Why is your head made out of cast iron?” Renjun winces. He tries to lean back, but you don’t let him escape. 

“Shut up! You’re the blockhead, asshole,” you protest, getting offended for the second time. “Anyways, Seo Soojin. The girl over there. The one with the bangs, big lips, and is hot as fuck?” 

He squints, finally zeroing in on her. “What about her?”

“That’s what I’m asking you, dipshit!” 

Renjun shrugs noncommittally—an action that you’ve grown extremely accustomed to during these past two days, an action that makes you want to rip your own hair out. “She seems nice.” 

“Well, try and talk to her then,” you say, spelling it out for him. “You know, so you can see if the two of you will hit it off or not.”

He gives you a look. It’s the same look that a twelve-year-old kid gives his mother when she makes him take a picture in front of a national monument that he doesn’t know anything about, nor does he care to. However, she insists, so he reluctantly trudges over to it and takes the picture—hands firmly balled up by his sides and his lips pressed into a hard line, no matter how much his mom tells him to smile.

So, in other words, Renjun looks like he wants to crawl into a hole and die.

“Are you sure that you’re human?” you ask incredulously. You’re not even being sarcastic at this point; you genuinely want to know how he is able to feel absolutely nothing for women that could rival the goddesses themselves.

“Technically—”

“If you say that you’re only half-human because we’re demigods, you’re going to get a pen through the jugular,” you warn, pointing your pen at him. 

“Am I wrong, though?” 

“You know what I mean, you smartass. Are you or are you not capable of feeling romantic attraction towards another person?” you demand.

“I am,” he simply says.

“That’s it? That was the most robotic answer I’ve ever heard in my life!” you exclaim. 

“What else am I supposed to say?” he asks, throwing his arms up. 

“Have you experienced any blackouts recently, like woken up without memory of the past twenty-four hours? Have you checked your body for any chip implants under your skin?” You eye him suspiciously. “Been beamed up by any UFOs? Gone somewhere haunted?” 

Renjun gives you a pointed look, sighing. “While it is touching to know that you do, in fact, listen to me whenever I talk about topics I’m interested in, this is not how I wanted you to apply your knowledge.”

“You know, now that I think about it, you sure talked about alien abductions a lot,” you say, stroking a fake beard on your chin. “Could it be because you were actually abducted by aliens and got brainwashed into gathering information about us demigods, but they took away your ability to feel emotions so they wouldn’t get in the way of your mission?” 

You pause, waiting for his reaction. Renjun is very obviously trying not to smile, with his chin being propped up by his palm and his fingers covering his mouth. “Please, continue.” 

“But ultimately, that will be your fatal flaw and the downfall of your mission because you can’t empathize like humans can,” you finish dramatically. 

“Alright, let’s say I was brainwashed by aliens. Why would I then draw more attention to myself by talking about the very thing that happened to me? Wouldn’t that be counterproductive?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Reverse psychology,” you explain, “you talk about them, so you won’t seem suspicious.” 

Renjun exhales sharply before looking down at his feet. You can see his lips twitching as he tries not to laugh, though you’re pretty sure that exhale from before was a small laugh. You’re grinning, despite the fact that you’re also trying to keep up your detective act.

“I’m kind of wish I had been abducted by aliens right about now. Maybe brainwashed me would be a little more courageous,” he mutters under his breath. You’re not sure if you were meant to hear that, but you do anyways. 

“That sounds exactly like something someone abducted by an alien would say!” you say in an accusatory tone, pointing a finger at him. He rolls his eyes, but a tiny smile eventually makes its way to his lips. 

You gasp loudly, grabbing his face and pulling it towards your own. He makes a small noise of surprise, eyes as wide as UFO saucers. Your faces are so close that your noses are slightly brushing up against one another, but you’re not paying attention to that right now. 

“Or you could be a lizard person,” you whisper, “you know, the ones that people think take the place of government officials.”

“They’re called reptilian humanoids,” Renjun corrects. His breath (which smells like the blueberry muffin he had this morning) rustles your baby hairs. 

“Your eyes are glowing yellow, and your pupils are turning into slits,” you tease.

“Are they, now?” 

No, they aren’t. His eyes are a cool, icy gray, like most Athena children. It’s always been a trait you’ve been jealous of. They sparkle like stars, or freshly fallen snow. They change according to his mood too. For example, when he gets angry, there are no stars. Instead of twinkling, they flash like lightning. His eyes are truly the window to his soul; they’re one of your favorite things about him.

Renjun slightly leans into your touch, and it finally hits you how close he is. You’re cupping his face with both hands, tilting his chin up, and it looks like you’re about to...kiss him.

 It seems you’re not the only one who thinks so, because almost the entire library is gawking at you. Including Seo Soojin. She looks surprised, and slightly disgusted, by the two of you.

Oh.

You feel heat rise from your neck to your entire face.

Oh gods, they all think we’re a couple.

You recoil away from him, withdrawing your hands like your just burned yourself. “We have to get out of here.”

“What?” As always, Renjun doesn’t know what’s going on.

“Just come on,” you say quickly, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the library. 

Your face burns for a long time after that, and you can no longer focus on anything else. In the end, you decide to call it a day after a few more half-hearted attempts to find more candidates for Renjun. When you come back to your cabin, you take another cold shower. 

You’re not sure what you’re so flustered by: the fact that you didn’t realize what you were doing or the fact that everyone in the library saw it.

Or the fact that you didn’t mind the notion of being mistaken for a couple with Renjun.

ও DAY THREE.

You don’t meet bright and early with Renjun today. He demanded to sleep in this time, since he’s not an early riser to begin with and the past two days have sucked all the energy out of him. 

Which means you’re free until noon. You check the time—10 AM. 

Two hours to kill. 

You don’t feel like getting all sweaty and hot, so any activity outside is out. You really don’t want to be judged by more Athena kids in the Arts and Crafts Center without Renjun. So, you decide to head back to the library, despite how yesterday went.

You check out a book that goes into depth about some of the most believable conspiracy theories; Renjun actually read it a while ago (and totally geeked out about it to you), but who would have thought that you would end up reading it too? Past you definitely would’ve laughed in your face if you told her that. 

Once you get back to your cabin, you curl up in your covers and begin to read. You get about two chapters in when you hear the door open and Jeong Jaehyun, one of your brothers, walks in. He’s wearing his orange t-shirt that’s soaked with sweat, and his hair is dripping from perspiration too. His pale skin glistens, and he looks like a sweaty and sparkly vampire. 

“Hey, kid,” Jaehyun says, nodding at you. He isn’t that much older than you, but he’s gotten into the habit of calling you kid for some reason.

“This is a surprise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you come back from training before 5 PM,” you tease.

He lets out a low whistle. “Way too hot out there. I needed to get some A/C before I had a heatstroke—is that a book in your hand?”

“What about it?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

Jaehyun snorts. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you near a book, much less read one.”

“Rude. I am expanding my horizons,” you retort. 

“It seems so. What was up with you and Renjun at the library yesterday?” Jaehyun plops down on the edge of your bed. 

“How do you even know about that?” you ask, wrinkling your nose. “And go take a shower first before you sit on my bed! You stink!” 

“Do I?” He waggles his eyebrows and throws his arms around you in a bear hug. You try your best to shove him off, but he has a hold on your like a python. 

“I hate you,” you say when he finally pulls back, sniffing your shirt to make sure you still smelled like your fabric softener. “Anyways, how’d you find out about the library thing?”

“Rumors spread fast around here, dear sister. But, seriously, what’s the deal?”

“There is no deal, Jaehyun,” you sigh, closing your book. “It’s all just a misunderstanding. We were joking around while I was trying to find a potential girlfriend for him there—which, by the way, is going horribly. I don’t think he feels romantic attraction properly like everybody else.”

“Oh right. I forgot you roped Renjun into your matchmaking thing,” Jaehyun says, disappointed. “Damn, and here I thought he finally made a move.”

Your head snaps up to give him a quizzical look. “What?”

“What?” He tilts his head.

“What did you mean by that, the part where you said you thought Renjun finally made a move?” you ask. 

Jaehyun stares at you for a couple of seconds, an astonished expression on his face. “Do you really not know?” 

“Would I be asking if I didn’t know?” you shoot back, annoyed that he still hasn’t answered you. 

“Gods, all this time, I thought you were just pretending like you didn’t know because you didn’t want to make things awkward,” he continues, shaking his head.

“Jaehyun, what are you talking about?” you demand.

“Renjun is in love with you, Y/N.”

You gape at him. It’s a good thing you’re already sitting down because you definitely would have fallen on your ass if you had been standing.

“Th-Th-That’s impossible,” you stammer, like an absolute idiot. “There’s n-n-no way.”

“Oh, come on, lil’ sis. He’s never even tried to hide it. He’s so obvious about it that I seriously don’t understand how you didn’t know,” Jaehyun snorts. “You don’t even need to have powers to see that he’s head over heels for you.”

“But—but how? I would’ve sensed it!” you exclaim.

“You’re so sharp when it comes to other people, but you’re dense as hell when it comes to yourself,” Jaehyun points out, shrugging. “You just never paid attention, Y/N.”

You don’t respond. Your mind is a mess, a jumbled mishmash of emotions. You’re feeling so many things right now, and you can’t pinpoint any of it.. You wouldn’t be surprised if you passed out.

“Do you like him back?” Jaehyun asks softly. 

“I—no! Of course not. Renjun’s my best friend. If I liked him, why would I be trying to find him a girlfriend right now? That’d be stupid of me. Yeah, that’d be so dumb. Why would I do that?” You’re rambling now, and it’s glaringly obvious that you’re trying to convince yourself rather than Jaehyun (and you know he can see it too).

“It doesn’t seem like you’re trying that hard, though.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” you ask defensively. 

“The Y/N I know spends all hours of the day gathering information on her potential matches and making sure even the tiniest detail goes according to her master plan that she’s already drafted inside her head. She wouldn’t be sitting here, leisurely reading a book, especially if it’s going horribly. She would be doing everything in her power to get things back on track,” Jaehyun notes. “Ask yourself. Do you really want Renjun to get a girlfriend?” 

“Wh-Why wouldn’t I?” You ask him, hoping he knows the answer, because you sure as hell don’t know. 

“Because he won’t always be there anymore. He won’t have time to let you constantly drag him into your antics anymore. You won’t be his number one anymore. His girlfriend will be his first priority, of course, as she should. Think long and hard about that, Y/N. Will you be okay with that?”

“I—” The words seem to die inside your throat as you come to realization that you might not be okay with that at all. You’ve always gone to Renjun for everything and knowing that he may not always be there makes you feel lost, like a compass without it’s True North. You’re being selfish again, but it seems like you’ve gotten into the habit of acting selfish whenever it comes to Renjun. You’ve let yourself grow too reliant on him. 

“Why do you care so much anyways?” Now, you’re deflecting. “Why did you tell me all of this?”

“Because you’re my little sister and I care about you. I want you to be one hundred percent sure of your own feelings, so your heart doesn’t get broken. The only reason I didn’t say anything sooner was because I thought you were already sure. Take some time and think about it, Y/N. It’ll be better for your friendship with Renjun if everything is crystal clear between the two of you,” Jaehyun advises, giving you a pat on the shoulder. He gets up, presumably to take a shower, and leaves.

You barely notice him go.

You sit in your bed, staring blankly at the wall, until Renjun finally arrives. He’s still a little groggy, probably having woken up ten minutes ago before coming. His clothes are a little rumpled and his hair isn’t styled, with his bangs flopping in his eyes. Normally, you would have made fun of him and mussed it up, but you have other things on your mind as of the moment. 

Like always, he can tell something is up. He gets that concerned look on his face—the one where he has a deep crease between his brows and his rosy lips are turned downwards. 

“What’s wrong?” He places a hand on your arm, lowering his head so he can’t get a better look at your face. 

Physical contact with Renjun has always been something normal for you, but suddenly, you’re now acutely aware of everything about him. You can feel the pad of every one of his fingertips on your bare skin, the warmth of his palm, and just how easily his touch makes your body relax. Even when your brain is a whirlwind of thoughts, your muscles, like clockwork, instantly loosen up with just a brush of his hand.

“We need to talk,” you say shakily, moving away from him. There’s a flash of hurt in his eyes as his hand falls to his side. You feel bad, but the longer he’s touching you, the more confused you get. 

You lead him a secluded area behind the Dining Pavilion, and he follows wordlessly. He waits for you to speak as the two of you stand there. Now that you’re here, you don’t really know what to say anymore. 

“Are you in love with me?” you blurt before you can stop yourself. “Jaehyun said—”

“Yes,” Renjun answers. If he’s surprised or taken aback whatosever, he doesn’t show it. In fact, it seems like he knew this was coming. There’s no fear or hesitation in his eyes. He’s unwavering in his answer, and you wonder how he can always be so certain of his feelings. 

“How long?” you ask tentatively. 

“Probably when we first met,” he says. 

“Why?” 

“Are you asking me why I’m in love with you?” He raises an eyebrow. 

You’re not sure. You’re not sure of anything anymore.

When you don’t answer, Renjun looks at you for a very long time. “You make me happy, Y/N. No matter how shitty things get, no matter how much I want to ram my fist through a wall, I see you and it’s like I can finally take a breath again. When you smile at me, I forget about everything that was bothering me. You and your daily shenanigans are the best part of my day. You’re obnoxious and frustrating and exhausting, but I fucking love you for it. I’m at your beck and call; I’d do anything for you. Whenever you’re happy, I become happy too. Nothing else matters to me anymore. That’s why.”

“You should have told me,” you say, voice cracking. Your heart is singing with joy, and you want to cry with relief. He talks about you like you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and you so desperately want to be exactly that for him. You’re not confused anymore. Everything has finally become clear for you now. You truly wonder how you managed not to notice anything at all—whether it be your own feelings or his. 

“I knew it would upset you,” he murmurs. 

But then it hits you. 

You can’t even fathom how much Renjun has had to endure throughout the years. He’s loved you all this time, yet he hasn’t said a word—out of consideration for you. In everything he’s ever done during the course of your friendship, he has always put you first. Even if it hurts him, he was willing to withstand it for your sake.

Yet all you’ve done for him is force him into letting you try to find a him a girlfriend, despite the fact that he was against it, and he had to pretend like he was okay as he watched you parade around like a fool telling him to love someone else. 

You don’t deserve to be loved by someone like Huang Renjun.

You don’t deserve to love someone like Huang Renjun.

Suddenly, you begin to feel nauseous—probably sickened by guilt. Black spots dot your vision, and your legs start wobbling. Your body collapses only moments after, but luckily, Renjun manages to catch you before you can hit the pavement. 

“Y/N? Y/N? Hey, talk to me,” you can hear him say very faintly. He’s cradling you against his chest, and you bury your face in it. Your head is spinning, but you feel surprisingly grounded in his arms.

Has he always smelled this nice? His scent is a mixture of books and sandalwood, and you’re basically crushing your nose against his chest like an absolute pervert. You don’t feel embarrassed because you know you can blame it on being sick later. 

Speaking of sick, even though Renjun smells so good, you proceed to lean forward and vomit all over him and yourself.

Once again, you don’t feel that embarrassed because you black out soon after.

ও DAY FOUR.

You wake up tucked nicely under your covers. Much to your relief, you’re also in clean clothes—your favorite set of heart pajamas. Unfortunately, that’s the only bright side to your current state.

It feels like you haven’t had a sip of water in ten years, and your lips feel like they’ve been glued together. Even the tiniest movement makes your head feel like someone is drilling into your skull. Your body feels twenty times heavier, and not to mention, you just generally feel like shit because of what happened with Renjun.

“Oh my gods, you look so creepy right now. Who just lays there with their eyes wide open? If you’re awake, you should say something,” a voice chides. Turning your head just a smidgen (and wincing because of the pain), you see your sister, Lee Mijoo. She has a glass of water in her hand, setting it on your nightstand.

“How long have I been asleep?” you ask hoarsely. 

“Let’s see. Renjun brought you back at like 2 PM yesterday, and it’s now 8 PM, so...thirty hours?” Mijoo counts on her fingers. 

“Fuck,” you groan.

“Heatstroke will do that to ya,” she says, making a clicking noise with her tongue.

“I had a heatstroke?”

“Yep. It was a pretty nasty one too. You really did a number all over Renjun’s shirt. It was like a vomit Picasso,” Mijoo says, sounding kind of impressed.

Your face burns from humiliation. 

“Here, sit up and drink this water,” she orders, helping you get up. Your head is screaming in pain, like a million little jabs to your brain. You down the water in one big gulp, not realizing just how dehydrated you were until your lips hit the water. 

“So, you and Renjun, huh?” Mijoo asks sheepishly.

If you still had water in your mouth, you would’ve spat it out. “What?”

“Jaehyun told me everything,” she explains.

Traitor, you think to yourself.

“Don’t be mad at him. Renjun looked like a kicked puppy when we saw him. There’s no way I wouldn’t have asked questions,” she says. “Did you break his heart, little sister?”

You sigh, putting the cup back on your nightstand. “I hope not. His heart shouldn’t be broken by someone like me.”

“And what does that mean?”

“It means that he shouldn’t concern himself with me,” you sigh.

“Well, he does. He came to check up on you like a billion times. I had to ban him from coming back until tomorrow,” Mijoo snorts. “He’s a really good guy, you know.”

“Trust me,” you say, rubbing your temples. “I know that better than anyone.”

“So, what’s stopping you? I would be all over that.”

You glare at her before letting out another sigh. “He’s too good for me, Mijoo.” 

“That’s for him to decide, no?” She raises an eyebrow.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just saying the truth,” you say. 

“So, you won’t mind if I date him?” she asks seriously.

Your face falls instantly, and Mijoo doubles over laughing. 

“Geez, Y/N, you looked like you were about to claw my eyes out!” She wipes away a tear.

“Very funny,” you say dryly. 

“But what if I had been serious? What would you have done then?”

You don’t answer.

“I think you really, really like Renjun, Y/N,” Mijoo whispers loudly.

“I think I love him,” you whisper back.

“Then, you should probably tell him.”

“Yeah, I should,” you echo.

Ignoring the major migraine you have and the fact that you’re still a little sluggish, you throw your covers off of you. You don’t change out of your pajamas, simply throwing a thin cardigan over it. 

“Uh, Y/N, maybe you should wait until you feel be—”

“No, I have do it now before I change my mind,” you cut her off, slipping on your tennis shoes.

You hear Mijoo call after you, but you’re already out of the door. The Athena Cabin isn’t too far from the Aphrodite Cabin, so the walk is short. Much to your surprise once you’re inside, he isn’t there.

Grabbing the nearest Athena kid you see, you ask, “Where’s Renjun?”

“Um, I think he went to the amphitheater?” 

The amphitheater is a bit further, so you promptly release and thank the kid, before taking off. You’re not sure if running is recommended right after a heatstroke, but you do it anyways. By the time you get there, your cardigan is slipping off and you’re dripping with sweat from the humid summer heat. 

The amphitheater is extremely crowded, since there was probably a performance tonight. It’s actually a little hard to see over all the people. However, you find Renjun pretty quickly.

You see him standing off to the side, away from everyone else. He’s staring emptily at the stage, hands tucked inside his pockets. He looks so tired and dejected. His entire body slumps as if it’s too exhausting to stand up straight anymore. 

All because of you.

You wait until you finally catch your breath, opening your mouth to call out to him. But you don’t ever get the chance to because a girl walks up to him. You can’t tell who she is because the back of her head is facing you, and you see Renjun give her a small smile before saying something.

The girl laughs and turns her head, giving you a view of her side profile.

Hwang Yeji.

All of the courage you had inside you withers away like a dying flower.

You take a step back, accidentally bumping into someone behind you. They say something to you, but you don’t hear it at all. Instead, you turn on your heel and run. You run wildly and blindly, nearly whizzing right past your cabin. You’re barely able get back inside, eyes so blurry with tears that you can’t even see where you’re going. 

When Mijoo sees you, she doesn’t ask any questions. She just turns on the shower for you, extra hot. You step in without a word, letting the water mix with the tears running down your face. 

It’s not that you think Renjun is in love with Yeji now. In fact, you know he’s not. It’s just that they would be much better together. 

Yeji is one of the sweetest girls you know. She would treat Renjun with the kindness he deserves. She would consider his feelings first before making him do anything. She would make him happier than you ever could. They would be so compatible, and if you weren’t in love with Renjun yourself, you would definitely be trying to set the two up. 

After your shower, you change into the clothes Mijoo set out for you—an oversized sweater with cotton shorts—and miserably crawl back in bed. You’re so drained that you don’t even have the energy to drink the fresh glass of water on your nightstand. 

Everything hurt—mentally and physically. 

Your heart aches most of all. You’ve dated here and there, gone through some breakups, but nothing has ever been as painful as this. 

It’s a pain that consumes you whole. A pain that makes you want to scream but no sound will come out. A pain that makes you want to tear your heart out. A pain that makes you wish a bunch of aliens abducted you and brainwashed you into not feeling any emotions anymore.

It’s the same pain that you thought you felt from Renjun on the first day of when this all began.

And then the last puzzle piece finally falls into place.

That pain was never his.

It has always been your own.

You love Renjun too, and you’ve loved him for a very long time.

ও DAY FIVE. 

“Come on, Y/N. At least get up to wash your face and brush your teeth,” Mijoo pleads.

You ignore her, pulling your covers over your head and turning away. It’s already well into the afternoon, but you’ve been feigning sick so you didn’t have to get up. The rest of the Aphrodite children have left and gone about their various activities throughout the camp, but Mijoo was tasked by Jaehyun to take care of you.

“If you just do that, I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the day,” she bargains. 

You think about it for a second before sighing, begrudgingly sitting up. You can see the pity dripping out of her eyes when you brush past her to head to the bathroom. When you see yourself in the mirror, you can understand why.

Puffy eyes, matted hair, tear-stained cheeks, and chapped lips. It’s too bad you hadn’t been wearing mascara last night because the only thing you’re missing in your hot mess look right now are those dark smudges right under your eyes.

You brush you teeth, which takes a lot more effort than you realize, and splash water on your face. Not even bothering to brush your hair, you head straight back to bed. True to her word, Mijoo doesn’t say anything else after that.

That is, until a couple hours later.

“Um, so I know I said I would leave you alone, but I think you might want to get up for this one, Y/N,” she whispers. You can’t see her because you back is turned to her, but you can tell by the tone of her voice that it’s important.

Irritated, you yank the covers off you and sit back up once again. “Mijoo, I—”

You almost choke on air when you realize Mijoo isn’t alone. Renjun is right beside her, looking not much better than you. He’s in a wrinkled t-shirt and sweatpants, his hair looks like he just ran his fingers through it and called it a day, and he has purple bags under his eyes.

“Can we talk?” Renjun asks. 

You hesitantly nod. 

“I’ll, uh, give you two some privacy,” Mijoo says awkwardly before turning around and running out of the cabin. 

You don’t know what to do now, staring down at your clasped hands. You hear Renjun take a step forward, and you feel the edge of your bed dip under his weight. There’s a sizable gap between you and where he’s sitting, but he’s still close enough for his scent to waft over to you. He smells wonderful like usual, and you hope you don’t stink in return.

“How are you feeling?” Renjun asks quietly.

“Like shit,” you answer honestly.

He laughs under his breath. “I know what you mean.” 

Your heart skips a beat, and you feel giddy all of a sudden when you see him smile. How did you manage to turn into a lovesick little schoolgirl over night? 

“I talked to Yeji last night at the amphitheater,” Renjun says after a moment. 

“I know,” you mutter. 

He blinks. “You do? How?” 

You’re not sure how to answer that.

“Well, that doesn’t matter right now,” he dismisses, taking in a deep breath. “I just wanted to tell you that I ran into her after I checked up on you, and she invited me to watch her performance. I wasn’t going to say yes at first, but I thought it would make you happy if I did. I tried, Y/N, I really tried. Yeji’s a nice girl, but I can’t help how I feel. I love you, Y/N. It’s always been you, and it always will be. I’m not asking you to love me back. I just want to stay by your side, as your friend, if you’ll allow it. I—”

“Stop,” you interrupt, scooting closer to him and putting a hand over his mouth. “I have to tell you something.” 

Renjun gives you a bewildered expression but nods nonetheless. 

You remove your hand from his mouth, before taking in a deep breath of your own. “You’re my best friend, Renjun, and I’ve always confided in you for everything. I took you for granted, and I only thought about myself. Deep down, I think I’ve always known about your feelings and my own, but I was afraid to dig for it. I was comfortable, and I didn’t want to ruin that, even though you were hurting. I’m truly sorry for treating you that way, Renjun. From now on, I want you to tell me everything—the good, the bad, the ugly. Don’t bottle things up for my sake.”

He goes to say something, but you hold up your hand to stop him.

“The reason why I knew you were with Yeji at the amphitheater last night is because I was there too. I went to look for you,” you finally confess. “When I decided I was going to find a girlfriend for you, I thought I would be able to step aside when you did find someone. But once I saw you with Yeji, I realized that I couldn’t do it. What I want with you isn’t a friendship anymore. I’m in love with you, Renjun. I have been for a long time, and it took me four, almost five, years to see that because I never thought to listen to my own heart until now. I don’t think I will ever deserve you in his lifetime, but I love you. I’m selfish and I’m a mess and I always cause trouble for you, but I—”

Renjun wraps an arm around your waist and tugs your body flush against his. His hand comes up to cradle your cheek as his thumb lightly runs across your cheekbone. You’re clutching his shirt like a lifeline, holding your breath, as you stare into those gray eyes.

“You,” he whispers, his lips barely brushing against yours, “are more than I deserve.”

He leans in and closes the infinitesimal gap between your mouths. He kisses you desperately, like you’ll disappear any moment, and you can feel all of the emotions he’s been locking away. His arms are wound tightly around you as he pulls you into his lap. You weave your hands through his hair, and he deepens the kiss. Your shirt rides up as you shift, and you feel his hand slip up your shirt and rest against your back. It ignites a fire within you and you want to tell him to take it off completely, but your lungs are screaming for air, so you have no choice but to pull away.

“Sorry,” Renjun says breathlessly, his chest heaving up and down, as he takes his hand out from under your shirt.

“No, I liked it,” you say, shaking your head and placing your forehead against his. “I just ran out of air.”

“No,” he disagrees, “I didn’t mean for it to go that far. It was supposed to be a sweet kiss, but I lost control.” 

He tugs your shirt back down and gently sets you back down next to him. You can’t help but giggle at how flustered he is. It’s not often that Athena children, especially Huang Renjun, loses control of their emotions like that. 

“I’m glad you find this amusing,” he says wryly, rolling his eyes. 

“You know,” you say in a sing-song voice, “I still technically never broke my streak. I found you a girlfriend within five days.”

“Does it really count if you ended up being my girlfriend?” He raises an eyebrow. “Seems a little unprofessional to me.” 

“Don’t be a sore loser,” you taunt.

“You also said you were going to make me fall in love so hard that I’d forget my own name,” he points out. “And I didn’t, so that’s false advertising. Unprofessional and unethical? I could sue you.” 

“You are so petty,” you squint. “And come on! That kiss didn’t make your forget? It made me forget!”

“I don’t like you that much.” He deadpans.

“Huang Renjun, you are so not cute!” 

4 YEARS AGO.

“It’s not my best work, so you can have it,” Renjun says, trying to act casual about it.

You look so happy that Renjun would have painted a thousand more if you asked him to. You have a smile that could make the goddesses envious, and he can barely hear what you’re saying over the thumping of his own heart. He hopes his expression looks somewhat elusive because he’s not sure how to handle himself right now. 

You’re the prettiest girl he’s ever seen in his life. 

Renjun feels like he’s been shot by Eros’ arrow. He used to never understand why everyone was so wary of Eros; he’s basically just a mascot for corny Valentine’s Day cards. Apollo and his children avoid Eros and his children like the plague. Though granted, Eros did force Apollo to fall in love with Daphne and then she ended up turning into a tree. So, there is a little bit of history there. Point being, Renjun just didn’t get it.

But he think he does now.

“Thank you so much!” you say excitedly, extending your hand. “I’m Y/N!”

Renjun just stupidly stares at you. He’s not even sure if he’s worthy to touch your hand, but he also doesn’t want to be rude. He carefully shakes your hand, unable to say a word.

“What’s your name?” you ask, tilting your head. 

Is it possible for a person to be this adorable? he thinks to himself.

“I’m...” 

You’re looking at him, waiting expectantly.

“I’m...”

You’re still smiling, but he can see the slight confusion in your eyes. He’s never felt like more of a moron in his life. 

“Ren...jun,” he finally says after an extreme amount of concentration. 

You beam at him, and he wonders if he’s the only one seeing the ring of light surrounding you. There’s no way you aren’t Aphrodite’s favorite child.

“Nice to meet you, Renjun! Let’s be friends.” 

Renjun isn’t sure he wants to be just friends, but he finds himself nodding along anyways. 

Fuck, he thinks, I’m in trouble.