#i accidentally forgot Athena and others sorry

[xoxochb]

daughter of athena reader x leo valdez ?

— one track mind, one track heart

warnings: friends to lovers, a bunch of architectural shit I can’t explain, ending is rushed pairing: leo valdez x daughter of athena a/n: I wasn’t sure if you wanted a fic or hcs but I thought of this fic idea so I wanted to execute it

“if we move the dressers to the right side the campers on the end won’t get one”

you point your finger to the blueprint where the bed sits against the wall. leo frowns and erases the sketch. “we could move them to the left?”

“yes, but then how would they open the drawers if it’s right beside the wall?”

“I’m… not sure”

you tap your nails against the table in thought. “I’m out of ideas. we should really just ask annabeth-”

“no!” leo cuts you off, then releasing the tone of his voice his cheeks flush pink “sorry. we can’t ask annabeth I told her I could do this”

“and I know you can. but don’t you think it would be helpful to have a third point of view on this?”

“not if that person is annabeth”

you roll your eyes and cross your arms, leaning your lower back against the table. in deep though, leo taps his fingers against the table similarly to how you had been, yet this was in code. a while back you had asked him to teach you, and happily he did so. you spent many long nights studying with him (you would be ‘pop-quizzed’ as leo called it, which basically consisted of him asking you stupid questions in code) until you mastered the wonderful arts of morse code. what he tapped know you chose to ignore, perhaps a mistake? or habit? you weren’t sure but the silence was eating you alive so you speak your next idea,

“what if we just leave the cabins as is? I know it defeats the whole purpose of remodeling but do we really need to remodel?”

leo stops his tapping. “no,” the tips of his curls ignite in tiny sparks. “but I think it would be cool to have something that we made. together”

you frown at his words. “oh leo. we have other things together! like when you taught me morse code? or in the winter when you let me sleep with you because it’s cold in my cabin? or even when we tried baking a cake for piper’s birthday but we forgot about it and it burnt”

you recall the last vividly. It was two years ago and you had been assigned to bake it, leo however, wanted to help out and who were you to say no? the beginning was fine, you successfully got all the ingredients together but when the mixing part came that was when disaster struck. leo accidental took the mixer out of the batter while it was still running and it flew all over the room including all over the both of you. after that fiasco you got the cake into the oven (finally), but after the cleaning you and leo were out cold on the kitchen floor, not found until an hour later when your sister entered to a smoke filled room with two idiots peacefully sleeping in each others arms. mr. d banned you both from going anywhere in the vicinity of the kitchen after this

“we could’ve made it onto the great british bake off with that masterpiece”

you don’t even attempt to suppress the growing smile on your lips. “right? but what I’m trying to say is that we have things, and they are far more exciting than remodeling cabins. besides,” you take his warm, tapping hand into yours, but surprised to find he averts his tapping to the back of your hand now. you suck in a breath and continue, “I’ll still love you all the same even if you can’t do this anymore”

that makes his hand stop tapping and he looks at you with wide eyes, realizing you had decoded his message. he stutters trying to form a coherent sentence, even his hands begin to spark making you yelp and pull your hand back

“oh gods! I’m sorry, I’m sorry”

leo scrambles to take your hands back into his as a silent apology. “don’t apologize, leo, it’s fine”

he pouts and inspects your hands. “are you sure? did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine, really” you confirm, but leo continues nonetheless

“if you’re hurt then I can take you to the infirmary. I’ll give you ice! does ice help with burns? it should…”

you speak his name but he doesn’t listen

“I won’t give you ice what if it makes it worse? maybe you should let will see this, he’s a great healer!”

“leo”

“do your hands hurt? they don’t look hurt but you never know…”

“leo”

“I’m really sorry, did I say that already? well I am-”

speaking doesn’t seem to be helping your case, so you close your eyes and slot your lips with his, ultimately shutting him up. when you pull away you see his hair and begun sparking again and that now he isn’t able to form a complete word. you begin to worry you read the signs wrong

“oh gods, I’m sorry. I should’ve asked, that was stupid of me I’m-”

“do it again”

your brows furrow. “what?”

“please”

In the midsts of your confusion, leo kisses you again, this time longer. but who said it ended with just two?”

[oneshotnewbie]

In the glow of roses

Athena Grant x Reader

Summary: Athena accidentally forgets her anniversary with you due to a particularly stressful case. When she comes home and realizes that you prepared a romantic dinner, she feels guilty. But instead of being disappointed, you surprise her with how understanding and loving you are. Together you find a way to save the evening and enjoy a romantic moment that proves that your relationship is not about perfection, but about love and understanding.

Authors note: I hope you can still enjoy the fluff, even if it is not angst that you are used to from me. Enjoy ♥

ᕚ---ᕘ

Athena Grant let out a heavy sigh as she finally pulled into the driveway of her house, the hum of the engine echoing in the still night. Night had long since fallen, and the fatigue she felt, digging deep into her muscles, was not only physical, but mental as well. The case she had been working on had taken her hours and drained all her energy. An armed robbery, panicked witnesses, and a chase that seemed never-ending - it was one of those days when her work consumed her completely. The responsibility of protecting lives and bringing them home safely weighed heavily on her.

The adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins was still palpable, but the moment she opened the front door and took the first step into the house, she felt a different kind of unease as a queasy feeling overcame her and her stomach clenched.

The room was bathed in a soft, warm light. Candles were all over the living room, their flickering light reflecting off the shiny surfaces of the furniture. Her gaze wandered further, and as she looked at the lovingly set dining table, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

The anniversary. She had completely forgotten about it.

Her heart stopped for a moment, and a wave of guilt hit her with full force. You had gone through the trouble of preparing a romantic dinner. A bouquet of red roses in the center, fine dishes, a bottle of red wine sparkling in the candlelight, and the scent of freshly cooked food floating in the air - a spicy aroma that she usually found soothing, but now felt like a sharp stab in her heart. It was obvious how much effort you had made, and Athena felt as if she had lost the air to breathe.

Her throat tightened, and she had to blink to hold back the rising anger at herself. Athena stopped dead in her tracks when she saw you coming out of the kitchen. You both looked at each other, and there was unmistakable remorse in Athena's eyes. She expected a look of disappointment or even sadness, but all she saw was gentleness and warmth.

You smiled gently, if a little tired, and your lips formed a quiet "Hey."

She opened her mouth to say something, but her words got stuck in her throat. She could see how much love and devotion went into every detail. "I... I forgot," she finally stammered, her voice rough and brittle as she turned her head slightly to the side. She took a step closer, now able to smell the smell of the food and the roses more clearly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to forget it."

You walked slowly towards her, your eyes soft and understanding, although there was a hint of pain in them. But instead of blaming her, you lifted her chin with two fingers so that your eyes met again. "It's okay," you whispered, your voice radiating warmth as you gently stroked Athena's cheek with your thumb. "I know you've had a hard day. I know how much you sacrifice. And I know you love me - and that's what matters."

Athena felt her heart clench, but not out of pain, but out of relief. The gesture, as small as it was, felt like a gentle embrace of her heart. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to swallow the guilt and pain. "I should have remembered," she murmured, placing her hand on yours, which was still resting on her cheek. "This day is special for you, and instead..."

You shook your head slightly and pulled Athena closer to you, put your arms around her and held her tight as if you never wanted to let her go again. "'thena, it's okay. This day is important to me but I also know how important your work is to you."

She could feel your gentle heartbeat against her own chest, a rhythm that had a calming and stabilizing effect on her. She closed her eyes and leaned your head on her shoulder, feeling the warmth and familiarity that she always valued so much. Your arms around her felt like a safe haven, a place where she could just be herself - without the pressure and responsibility that so often burdened her.

"How can you be so understanding?" she whispered in your ear as she placed her hands on your waist and pulled you immediately closer. The warmth of your bodies, so close together, began to drive the tension of the day from Athena's limbs.

"Because I know you," you answered softly, running your fingers through her hair, letting her feel that every touch was full of affection. "And I know that we don't have to be perfect. It's not about making a day perfect. It's about being there for each other, even on the most chaotic days."

Athena pulled back for a moment and looked deep into your eyes. Her own shone with gratitude and love. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me," she said quietly, her voice sounding gentle and honest. "I will try to show you that more often."

She lowered her head and gently touched your forehead with her lips while her fingers gently glided over your arms, gentle touches that seemed like a quiet promise. "I wish I had realized earlier how perfect you are in my eyes," she said more quietly, almost whispering. "My thoughts should have been with you instead of letting everything else take over."

You smiled gently, your eyes sparkling in the candlelight. "It's not too late. The evening is still young," you said and took her hand to lead her to the dining table. "Then let's enjoy the evening now. It's not too late to create a beautiful moment."

Athena sat down, her fingers still tightly entwined with yours. The wine tasted velvety on her tongue, and the food filled her stomach with love. As you ate together, the tension slowly released from Athena's shoulders. Every smile, every gentle look and every touch made her relax more and more. The warmth that flooded through her was like a reminder that the essence of your relationship was not defined by perfect moments, but by the connection you shared.

After dinner was over, you stood up, a wide grin playing on your lips. "Come with me," you said and led Athena into the bathroom, your hands tightly clasped together. The bathroom was already enveloped in a romantic, dreamlike atmosphere. Here, too, there were candles everywhere, the flames reflected on the walls while rose petals floated on the surface of the water. The scent of roses was in the air and mixed with the aroma of essential oils that permeated the water.

Athena looked around and her eyes widened. She could hardly believe how much effort you had put into making this evening special. "You prepared all this for me?" she asked, her voice almost toneless with emotion. Her gaze slid over the arrangement, the loving details. She felt her cheeks getting hot, not only from the steam, but also from the charged moment.

You nodded and she pulled you gently towards her. Your lips found each other in a kiss that was gentle and intense at the same time. You closed your eyes, let yourself fall into this moment and felt a hot wave of desire rising within you. The touch of her lips, the tenderness with which she kissed your lips, made your pulse race.

Slowly, as if she wanted to enjoy every second, she let her lips wander lower - from your jaw down to your neck. You tilted your head back, enjoying the tingling that spread across your skin. You couldn't help but let out a soft, pleasurable sigh. "You're driving me crazy," she whispered into your skin, her voice trembling slightly with desire as her hands snuggled around your hips and slowly moved upwards.

"That's the plan," you replied with a seductive smile before she placed her lips on your neck again and the kisses became deeper and more demanding. You could feel the heat building between you, the way your heart beat faster, the way her fingers ran along your back and clung to the fabric of your shirt. For a moment you were just two people, united in your love and the moment.

You pulled away from her and stepped behind her, gently placing your hands on her shoulders and began to let your fingertips glide in light circles over Athena's neck. "I wanted you to relax," you whispered, letting your lips now brush along her neck. The kisses were gentle, but they raised goosebumps, as if every single spark was dancing between you. "And I wanted us to have a moment all to ourselves."

Athena closed her eyes, enjoying the gentle touch, the feeling of your closeness, the warmth that emanated from your bodies. "You always know exactly what I need," she murmured as she leaned back further. Your hands wandered over her arms until they gently grasped her hips.

"Because I know you," you answered, and Athena felt the love that lay in your words. They were true. "And because I love you."

Slowly, with a deep intimacy that made her heart swell, you took off your clothes and slipped into the warm, fragrant water together. The rose petals lay gently on your skin as you snuggled up to each other. Her hands slid gently over your middle while yours gently stroked her thighs and she closed her eyes, lost in the feeling of the tender touches, the closeness and the warmth that enveloped her.

"You are my rock," she whispered as she held you closer to her, her arms wrapped around you protectively. "Always," you whispered back, leaning your head to the side to kiss her lips again. "You are everything to me."

Your bodies, floating lightly in the water, melted into a deep embrace that expressed more than just tenderness - it was a sign of the love, trust and desire you both felt for each other. Athena felt safe, secure and desired. The heat that flowed through her was not just that of the warm water, but also the intense connection to you that she felt stronger with every kiss, every touch.

In that moment, enveloped in candlelight and roses, Athena knew that perfection was never the goal in your relationship. It was the unwavering, all-encompassing love that surprised her again and again, fulfilled her and carried her through every hard day.

[kristenwell]

Disney Princess - Annabeth Chase x Daughter of Aphrodite!Reader

(a/n - fem reader because in lesbians we trust! 🗣🔥

I forgot to put tw - mention of spiders and holding them)

Everybody knows that that the kids from Cabin 10 are beautiful, it was common knowledge. They were fashionable, make-up loving experts on love, obssesed with gossip and had a tendency to be shallow and mean.

Y/N L/N was one of the few exceptions, the girl was the definition of a golden retriever.  She treated everyone kindly and most people loved her company, even the infamous son of Hades enjoyed spending time with her from time to time.

And her loveable personality led her to this exact situation with a certain blonde haired girl.

Annabeth Chase, her long-time crush, had her back turned towards the h/c girl. Y/N approached her slowly as she noticed something that would definetly make Annabeth panic.

The daughter of Athena stood near the cabins looking for her Yankee cap, she could’ve sworn she had it earlier in her pocket.

„Don’t move.“ A firm but gentle voice spoke out of nowhere, the girl froze for a second while she felt a pair of soft hands brushing against her upper back.

„Well aren’t you a beauty? What a pretty girl you are!“ Annabeth quickly turned around, she was prepared to scold whoever started flirting with her after they touched her out of the blue. What she wasn’t prepared for was the sight that awaited her.

Y/N couldn’t help but admire the beauty infront of her, in her palms to be exact. A wolf spider sat calmly and looked up at its savior.

Annabeth let out a yelp, she was terrifyed of spiders and the daughter of Aphrodite was just casually handling the arachnid.

„Hi Annabeth.“ The girl in question greeted her with a shy smile and felt her face heat up. Did she really say those words infront of her crush?

Annabeth, too busy to greet her back, pointed an accusing finger at Y/N, her body was trembling and she hated showing weakness.

„What are you doing with that thing? Throw it away, quick!“ She took a step back, ready to bolt if necessary.

Y/N’s eyes widened, she totally forgot about Annabeth’s phobia.

„Sorry, I should’ve warned you. I didn’t want you to panic and accidentally hurt it or yourself, you see it was on your back- “

„It was WHAT? Ew, ew, ew now I need to change clothes, and burn this shirt while I’m at it.“ The grey-eyed demigod ran towards her cabin and left the Y/N in the dust.

The daughter of Aphrodite sighed and released the eight-legged creature back to its home. Another chance to talk properly with Annabeth and once again, she blew it.

The evenings after dinner were the best.

Y/N loved them especially because the sunset made the lake look even more breathtaking than usually. The soft orange and pinkish glow gave it kind of a fairytale vibe. She was sitting near the docks while her legs rocked back and forth, her hair swayed along with the gentle breeze. The place was quiet and peaceful and most importantly, no one was around except for her. Mostly.

Annabeth was looking at Y/N from distance, contemplating whether or not to approach the girl after today’s events. She mustered up courage and walked towards the docks until she was about a meter away.

„Hey.“ Was all she could bring herself to say. She mentally slapped her face.

The beautiful girl infront of her snapped her head towards the sound of the voice, suprised expression plastered on her face.

„Hello.“

„I.. wanted to thank you for today.“

Y/N sent her a sheepish smile and patted the empty spot next to her. „Don’t mention it.“

Annabeth sat next to her carefully. She started at the lake, too embarassed to make eye-contact with the other girl.

„Why did you say that?“ She wondered outloud.

„Hm? Why did I say what?“ Y/N looked at her with her curious e/c eyes.

„You were worried about that spider getting hurt, why?“ The blonde girl finally faced her, her cheeks flushed slightly at their proximity.

„Every life matters, no matter how insignificant we make them to be. At least that’s my opinion.“

She stretched her hand towards the ground on her right ride and slowly brought it back. A small jumping spider sat on her palm and scanned its surroundings. Annabeth almost let out a shriek, she was about to stand up before a hand took a hold of hers.

„Don’t be afraid, this little guy is just chilling.“ Y/N gently rubbed the blonde’s hand with her thumb.

Annabeth blushed at the intimate gesture but she still kept her guard up. She almost immediately forgot about the creature that terrifies her, being too distracted by the beatiful girl’s relaxed expression. A small smile complimented her features and her e/c eyes softened.

„-kind of reminds me of you.“ The grey-eyed girl didn’t even realize the daughter of Aphrodite infront of her was talking, now head turned to face her and her smile still prominent.

„Sorry, what was that?“ She was embarassed that she got distracted by her face.

„I said that these guys remind me of you.“ Y/N admitted sheepishly.

Annabeth stared at her in shock and was about to tell her off but she was interrupted by the teen infront of her.

„This is my favourite species, jumping spiders. They are known to be very intelligent and curious.“ She brought her hand infron of her face to admire the little invertebrate once more. The spider turned its way towards her and tried to stretch its small pedipalps towards the demigod as much as it could. „They have a history of making strong bonds with humans and are able to recognize them. Plus their big eyes and fluffy bodies make them look super cute and cuddly.“ Y/N let out a small chuckle after she finished her speech. She then released the jumping spider and watched it as it made its way home with its tiny legs.

The blonde was speechless, at first she got offended at the comparison between her and a spider but now that she’s seen the h/c-ette talk about it with such passion, she felt praised.

 „Do you find me intelligent, cute and cuddly?“ Annabeth’s surprise turned into a smirk. She couldn’t help but tease the girl holding her hand.

Y/N face turned red, her eyes wide as she stammered.

„Wha? I mean, you are incredibly smart and and cute. You’re beautiful, everybody knows that.“

The wise girl didn’t expect that. She subconsciously leaned closer.

The child of love froze for a moment, taken aback at how close the girl is. Her eyes analyzed the grey ones and flickered downwards at Annabeth’s lips for a second. They only a few centimeters away from each other until a voice shouted from distance.

„Lights out, everybody!“

Most of the campers groaned in annoyance but went to their respective cabins.

Y/N quickly let go of Annabeth’s hand, stood up and looked at her. „Sorry, I.. we should go. Uhm, good night!“

Before the blonde could protest Y/N turned on her feet and ran to her cabin, her heart racing as she realized what almost happened.

Annabeth sat there, still frozen and red faced, but now determined to finish tonight’s events some other day.

[nyxirrationalstories]

Hello it's me again since your request is open ( correct me if i wrong ) , may i've a request for saint Seiya. Seiya,hyoga,Shun, Ikki,shiryu ( classic saint Seiya ) .... With model fem s/o, please...S/o who thought their boyfriend was cosplaying when they accidentally passed by/were at the scene after their fight and screamed in Joy.

This is gonna be so funny.

Btw, how are you?! Where have you been

Yes, the ask is still open. I'm fine, I had my bad days, but I'm still me after all.

I've been busy with college, I had an emergency surgery last year, I got this tumblr "hacked" (I got in a fight with a friend, I took advantage of giving her the password and she deleted ask and drafts), I got a cat that I love very much and a few days ago I taught a literature class at a chemistry school.

So between good and bad, thanks for asking. I appreciate the courtesy.

I misunderstood the ask, but I recover with the last 2 knights. Sorry, I hope you like it.

Actually, the scenario sounds pretty funny and I can already imagine every single situation.

- Seiya

Let's imagine for a moment that the poor boy forgot to tell his S/o about his fight on behalf of Athena.

So when S/o walked into the room and saw him in his armor... she got a "Lois Lane". Her boyfriend a zodiac knight? Naaaah, impossible. Must be a pretty good cosplay.

She couldn't help but be thrilled at how well done, I mean, literally wearing armor to emulate a knight? Now that's love of art, the passion in this work... she couldn't help but express it to him.

Seiya was quite confused and embarrassed. I mean, he loved that his girlfriend showed so much passion in "looking for the details of the cosplay" but at the same time he felt that not only did he owe her the truth but he didn't deserve those compliments because he hadn't even made the armor.

Unfortunately, every time he tried, the redder his face felt. He couldn't take that joy away from her, not yet.

- Hyoga

Here the reason I didn't say he was a zodiac knight is because he is too reserved and aloof about some things.

And Camus, especially Camus. Moreover, you just knew that Hyoga trained to be stronger alone. Camus only knew that Hyoga went to nearby villages to "read and train his mind". You both suspected certain lies, but Hyoga was living up to "expectations" so there was no problem?

So when you saw him in his armor in the dead of winter... you couldn't help but put several blankets and a coat on him. Hyoga was quite surprised and touched, it had been a long time since anyone had taken care of him like that.

As a cosplayer model, you told him that you were proud of his dedication and success in his costume, as his girlfriend "what were you thinking? It's so cold, you might get hypothermia".

Hyoga didn't correct you, it was better that you thought (for now) that this was just a costume and that he was a "handsome fool" who wanted to surprise you.

With you by your side, winter felt like spring.

- Shun

I think Shun never said anything because of the danger you might be in, I mean, look what happened to Ikki's girlfriend.

However, unlike the others, Shun might even go so far as to play along: photos, short videos, even do a little roleplaying to make your moment of joy turn into fun and euphoria.

It was quite an interesting afternoon until he took you by the hands and had to tell you the truth. And well, as the meme goes, "at first Ego thought it was a joke, but as Lingüini explained to him Ego's smile disappeared".

Next thing Shun knew, your next cosplay would be "The Knight of Andromeda" and that you would always support him no matter what.

Bonus: In the Hades saga, even though you were worried after everything that happened, Shun gave you the clothes that Hades used so you could cosplay.

- Ikki

I think Ikki needs no explanation as to why he didn't tell you he is a zodiac knight.

So after a successful fight and with all his buddies safe... he never thought he would stumble upon one of your photo shoots.

On the one hand, he was quite happy that you were fine and having fun. On the other hand, he had to put up with the teasing from his classmates and brother. Either with comments or Shun and Seiya posing for your photos. They even forced him to take a group photo for one of your stories.

For more "fun" the fools commented on the story, "praising" the cosplay. And you were responding with immense joy at how your boyfriend was "quite skilled at cosplay, just like his friends and brother".

Ikki vowed revenge, each of them would pay for their crime. Except for you and Shun, you guys were okay.

- Shiryu

I think Shiryu was honest from the beginning, but maybe you didn't believe him from the start. The other is that there was so much work that the detail completely slipped your mind.

So when you praised his cosplay, Shiryu mito you confused, but he appreciated the praise to his uniform. That's when reality hit you again and you could only feel your cheeks burning, hiding your face in your hands and whispering a "sorry".

Shiryu just smiled and stroked your head, telling you it was okay. Until Seiya said that his costume was better for cosplay, to which Ikki told him it was "simple and insipid". Thus starting a fight of "Which armor was better for cosplaying?"

Bonus:

Saori watched happily as you tried on the ancient robes of the Goddess Athena. She didn't have the heart to tell you that it wasn't a cosplay, nor to refuse to let you try them on.

She even put on the ornaments she herself would wear. You were her goddess of love, just as Ares had Aphrodite, she had you.

Saori was happy that you didn't know she was Athena, because you loved Saori Kido, who she really was. There was no duty, no quest for power, not that you liked the "Saori, the rich girl" part either. She was very grateful that Jabu had forgiven her for her mistreatment. Although now he kept teasing her about her "next cosplay".

[leclerced]

Girl we kind of have one brain cell cause I was literally thinking about Athena’s daughter for Lando and then I was like “yeah well break the rule and get him someone else everyone knows about it”. Also so true about Oscar sending him to Hades. I literally forgot he could open the ground and just watch Lando fall with a lil “oopsie. See ya looser”.

Lando would want a revenge and he’d start spraying water at Oscar from nowhere. Maybe one time he sneaks up on him and his girl when they are near the late and he sweeps Oscar from her and is like “okay now you go on an adventure through my world” and sends him through some ocean or sth. Meanwhile he chats with Oscar’s girl and she’s just so done with both of them because they have this competition of who will prank who better. So Lando is practically half dead with how often he’s in the underworld and Oscar now has friends among some fishes with how often he’s in the ocean hahaha

ok sorry started answering this at work but had to save it to my drafts and im home nowww

imagine oscar and anthena’s daughter met as kids and were brought to camp together, kinda like luke, thalia, and annabeth but less tragic. she was super smart and always got them away from monsters by outsmarting them. i can so see like, oscar having played call of duty or smth and wishing for help from soldiers and like, bc he’s a son of hades that wish raises dead soldiers to fight the monsters while they escape. they’re both super confused about why zombies are rising from the ground and fighting for them but take the chance to escape. then one day one makes it back to them and they’re terrified, thinking it’s going to attack them until it asks oscar for it’s next command. they're claimed pretty soon after arriving at camp, he raises a bunch of dead people to distract the other team and she's the one to actually find and capture the flag. their team captain would have given them orders but they would make their own plan when the captain won't listen to their suggestions. they’re both claimed right after that first game!

can see him and lando becoming friends when lando gets there and is claimed, the only two son's of the big three. then he discovers lando’s secretly dating his best friend? he accidentally opens the ground and sends him down to the underworld when he finds out by catching them together sneaking around one night. he’s kinda hurt his friends didn’t tell him but mostly annoyed about it, doesn’t trust lando not to hurt her. plus imagine they made fun of him all the time, he’s a newbie at camp and is just starting training and is making a fool of himself constantly!! they make fun of him during every practice session, and then late at night she’s sneaking around with him. oscar’s baffled by it.

it's like lando’s sneaking into a club n getting kicked out, some underworld creature comes and returns him back to camp. imagine him crawling up the crevice he went down through and they’re trying to fill it in and he’s like, “we’re you going to leave me down there?” chiron explains it was a safety hazard, three people fell in after he did. lando saying he didn’t fall in, looking for oscar to glare at but he’s hiding from the wrath of athena’s daughter. she would have given him an earful after lando suddenly disappeared down a crack in the earth, demanding he go down there and retrieve him lest he get stuck.

“oopsies see ya loser” is sooo real. lando gets back to camp after his trip down to the underworld and waits until night time to flood the hades cabin, filling it with seawater and fish and oscar wakes up floating on his mattress with a fish flopping on his chest. opens a hole in the ground to drain the water and make it erupt into the poseidon cabin because no one else could have turned his cabin into a four foot deep fish tank.

she has skeletons following her around to keep lando at bay because they creep him out. she'd knock them over and because it's just bones, they fall into a pile but magically they'd re-articulate after a few minutes and find her, probably trying to sneak off with lando for some private time and lando's suddenly not in the mood anymore 😭 he eventually stops but thats how the prank war between them begins

lando gets him back by having the nymphs spray him and his girlfriend down with water when they get close to the water. one day oscar and his girlfriend making out on the shore of the beach and suddenly the water is grabbing him and pulling him in. he’s jerked away from the kiss and barely sees lando laughing as he sits next to oscar’s gf before he’s submerged. naiads and nymphs keep him down there until lando gives the signal to release him and he’s swimming up to the surface and gasping for fresh air because it feels so wrong to breathe underwater, he hates it so much when lando gives him an air bubble and sucks him underwater.

his girlfriend rushing to meet him at the shore and asking if he’s okay and lando’s like, “he’s fine! he could breathe the entire time, nothing compared to being slobbered on by cerebus.” oscar insists that being held underwater with an air bubble around your head is definitely worse.

oscar makes friends with some nymphs and mermen after awhile, and lando makes friends with cerebus and random spirits roaming around the underworld!! like meets shakespeare and is telling him all about the 2000s remakes of his plays.

[didnt-want-to-be-a-halfblood]

Will: look, you have to eat something!

Nico: like an apple? *Throws apple at Will's head*

Will, easily catches it: oh yes, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' very mature😒

Hera *appears out of nowhere*: so you have chosen marriage.

Nico: what

Will: what

Demigods just trying to eat their lunch in peace: what

Mr. D and Chiron: oh shit-

Hera: prove to me of your devotion to each other by undergoing three trials of my choice. Only then will I bless this union. If you fail, then the marriage is destined to fail as well. *Vanishes*

Nico: 👁️👄👁️

Will: you know... I always imagined I'd be the one to propose...

Nico: 👁️👄👁️

Will: why don't we go prepare for these mystery trials? You can help me pick out some armor. Unless that accidentally calls upon Ares to make us battle each other to the death

Nico: 👁️👄👁️

Will: I'm just saying why didn't SOMEONE *glares at Chiron and Mr. D* warn us about this???

Chiron: you know the myth of ancient Greeks proposing to each other by the throwing and catching of apples. It's derived from the story of-

Will: yes, yes, when Aphrodite and Hera and Athena fight over the apple that someone threw their way that read 'to the fairest' or whatever. They each argued the apple belonged to them. But you never said something like this could happen now!! That if someone throws and catches an apple here that it counts as a proposal!!

Mr. D: i thought it would be funnier if we didn't warn anyone

Chiron: I had to stop him from creating a camp activity that was just dodgeball with apples

Mr. D: which I still think would've been hilarious. I'm surprised it's taken so long for this to happen tbh

Chiron: yeah sorry about that, it's been so long I honestly forgot. What do the kids say nowadays? "My bad."

Will: I'm ENGAGED and you can only say 'my bad??' Look! You broke Nico!

Nico: 💀💀💀

Mr. D: eh it's just wedding jitters. He'll be fine

Will: Nico? Nico, it's okay. We'll find a way out of this-

Nico: I can't believe I'm marrying the love of my life 🥺

Will:

Will:

Will, deciding William di Angelo has a nice ring to it: oh okay, good 🥺

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. Absolutely wild Rachel thinks it makes sense Rhea wouldn’t be the single named parent to the sisters/“friends” while Kronos is the single named parent to the brothers as if Rhea isn’t literally an anagram for Hera, her ancient art isnt modeled to look like Hestia, and that she shares divine mother/fertility status with Demeter. Like cmon, giving Hades an Oedipus complex is not worth it when the more obvious connections is right there and would actually get rid of the weird explicit incest and overtones she was desperately trying to get rid of but (accidentally?) made so much worse.

2. yall gotta realize the extent of rachel's "research' is purely a 30 second glance at google and thats it. thats why hephaestus has runner blades instead of actual prosthetics, it's why ares' military uniform isnt correct, it's why she puts in french aesthetics despite the country not even existing yet, its why sicily is framed as more important and the actual birthplace of these gods than actual greece, and the list goes on and on. rachel doesnt care about being remotely accurate and never has.

3. im confused because wasnt it a point persephone was uncomfortable with hades being hyper violent especially over her? yet this whole trial has been him going overboard in being a violet prat to literally everyone especially when its not warranted. tho for all we know rachel either forgot the part of persephone being uncomfortable with it or thinks everyone else forgot and shes reimplementing it bc she thinks its hot. anyway name a more iconic duo than LO and inconsistency over everything.

4. I don' care if the readers are young and don't know any better, literally no one with more than two brain cells would ever be cool and even approve of Persephone, only a week into being 20, would throw away her entire life, friends, and family (and possibly even her own powers if she eats the Pom) for some guy she's only known a most a month who doesn't respect her wants and obsesses over her body. Demeter is literally the only sane person in this sorry and she's the bad guy? Seriously?

5. tbh if you're 2000+ years old, are super rich, framed as the most desirable and power and sexy, and are a literal KING and you still couldnt find a wife or even a true relationship in all that time maybe the problem is you, buddy, not that everyone else isnt good enough or you haven't found an impressionable teenager to fawn over you.

6. Yeah Thanatos constantly flinching and being frightened of hades considering that was his caretaker has some rather bad implications to what hades was actually like off screen to this kid (and he was terrible on screen).

7. This comic's writing is my getting worse because Apollo read it and was so offended at his portrayal that he cursed Rachel and her writing forever.

8. im honestly shocked rachel would go with the "hera made hephaestus herself" version bc its so overwhelming ableist AND misogynistic because it says hera isnt good enough on her own and thats why hephaestus isnt "right" like everyone else, especially against athena. idk i think it would have been nicer if he was zeus and hera's kid together and it'd be a sweeter story of them loving him and sticking up against people who doubt and bully him, but god forbid this fanfic depict them positively 😑

9. to add on the "perfect looks" anon, even ancient greeks didnt depict the gods all the same? like hera and demeter were depicted as more matronly, aphrodite was more curvy, artemis was more skinny, athena muscular, etc. even the guys werent all the same (apollo, eros, and dionysus looked more effeminate, hermes looked more like a teen, hephaestus was more muscular, etc) so the idea rachel is "clever" for having everyone look the same is wrong and just badly excusing her for being a lazy artist.

-----FP Spoilers/Mention-----

10. FP// Sorry but the only god the mortals feared was Hades and for very obvious reasons, but even then they didn't see him as a monster. Literally every other god, including Pan who is a major weirdo, was well loved and respected. I think Hades is just projecting his own insecurities onto everyone else when they clearly don't have the same issue. Plus in this he's so violent and cruel and literally enslaves the dead, why wouldn't the mortals see him as a monster? Get a hint, idiot.

[fangirlapril2004]

1, 33 n 49!!

i don't know much about the wee woo show so ramble to me about the wee woo show

Aye thank you! And no worries, I’ll happily ramble about this damn wee woo show 💀

1. Personally what inspired me to start watching the show was an edit I saw on Instagram. I forgot the @ for the account 😅 but it was an edit of Bobby. Once I got Disney+ I thought I’d give it a try because it looked pretty good and honestly it is! Also lockdown too I guess 💀 I had some time to spare

33. Honestly I don’t know who the funniest character is 🤔 that’s a tough one. I think most of the characters are funnier when they’re together because their responses bounce of off one another. Most scenes do this but for example in season one (if anyone knows which ep it is feel free to correct me, I have bad memory) there was a scene where Bobby was creating a dating profile, once Hen, Chim and Buck found out they all started joking around and adding on to one another’s jokes, which just made the scene so much funnier. Poor Bobby 💀. It’s also funny that Hen and Chim have a betting system, I love that. I genuinely don’t know who the ‘funniest’ character is, that one got me thinking.

49. BATHENA! Wow this one is tough because I absolutely adore them. I don’t know if you can count this as a ‘bathena’ moment but I’m just gonna write about it anyways.

I think a moment that stood out to me in their relationship was in S3 ep7, aka Athena begins. That episode was tough to watch (although Bobby’s are really tough to watch too) anyways. The ending scene when Athena gets home and it’s just her and Bobby. We see Athena have a break down after arresting the suspect who murdered her fiancé in the 90s. It took over 20 years to catch the suspect and she went all those years not knowing who did it, it definitely ripped off the bandaid. But something about seeing Athena break down like that and Bobby runs to catch her before she collapses, Athena isn’t the type to be ‘emotional’. She’s portrayed as a strong, independent woman and she is! But before then we had barely seen her have a big break like that which spoke volumes. She was ok with letting Bobby see her like that, she trusted him to catch her and comfort her and he did exactly that. Hearing Athena gasp for air and seeing her cling onto Bobby to stabilise herself, then we get to see all the emotions in Bobby’s eyes. He looked just as hurt as she did. It truly broke my heart 🥺

I think that was a big bathena moment because that’s when they truly both had a ‘breakdown’ moment in front of each other. What I mean by that, we had only ever really seen Athena comfort Bobby about his past but this time it was the opposite, we got to see Bobby comfort Athena about her past meaning that now they had both had a moment where they have been completely vulnerable in front of each other. They’ve both seen that side of each other. I don’t know if any of this makes sense but I feel like once they had both seen each other’s vulnerable sides it changed their relationship. And sure there’s a lot of good bathena moments like the infamous first kiss we see on screen or the moment Athena saves Bobby in S4. Orrrr when Athena got attacked in S3. But personally I think their bond/trust really grew more when they had both seen each other at their lowest moments, they were both there to pick the other up.

I would mention S5 but I haven’t seen it, however I’m aware of that one scene. I accidentally saw a gifset. Anyways sorry for the shitty ramble I’m not good with words or getting my points across but I got it out there some shape or form 💀. I also chose that ‘bathena’ moment because I love a bit of angst 👀

[xbaepsae]

the ebb and flow | part one

“But you do know that it’s possible for a child of wisdom and a child of the sea to be amicable. Maybe even be more than that. However, at the end of the day, it’s really just because of you and Jeongguk.”

[demigod!jeongguk x demigod!reader]

genre: percy jackson!au, mythology!au, demigod!au, enemies to lovers!au

word count: 2.2k

rating: pg-13

warnings: language, character tension lol

a/n: ahhh. today’s our baby bun’s birthday + dynamite is number one on billboard, so you know i had to deliver something! for a while now, i’ve wanted to start a drabble series (especially since i always feel pressured to write longer 10k+ fics). also, i love pjo so, so much. this idea has been on my mind for a while now, so i really hope you all enjoy! i can’t wait for you guys to read the next parts :) xoxo

→ series masterlist!

the fifth summer - in which you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place

Perhaps, challenging Cabin Three to an impromptu capture the flag game had been a bad idea from the start. However, you fully blame their head counselor for egging you on in the first place.

If Jeon Jeongguk would just learn to keep his damn mouth shut, maybe you wouldn’t have felt the need to defend yourself. The only reason you challenged Poseidon’s cabin in the first place was because he called your battle strategy weak. Thinking about it now, you honestly don’t recall how the conversation even got to that subject—after all, you and Jeongguk argued a lot most days—but you knew he was wrong.

How could you—a daughter of Athena—have weak battle strategy? The idea was absolutely absurd. Your mother was the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy; and as a child who literally sprung forth from her brain, you inherited every drop of her skills.

While you admit that the son of Poseidon is probably one of the more capable demigods here—though you’ll never dare say it to his face—he’s also arrogant, and arrogance never wins in a game of pure strategy. Thus, in the five summers you both have attended Camp Half-Blood, you’ve won more capture the flag games than Jeongguk has. Maybe he forgot that little fact.

“Are you sure you want to lose again, Jeon?” you asked him, a smirk stretched across your lips.

“I think you’ll be the one losing today, miss goody-two-shoes.”

Unfortunately, neither of you managed a victory this time because a certain someone from Apollo’s cabin spilled the beans to Chiron. You don’t even know how Jung Hoseok found out about the game, probably from one of those sneaky Hermes kids, but you were going to—

“Y/n, I expected better from you.”

You freeze up at the disappointed look on Chiron’s face. Although your pride is wounded, you know he’s right—you’ve always been a top-notch camper, which is why you’re head counselor of your cabin. However, when Jeongguk gets involved, you just can’t seem to think clearly. Beside you, you hear the devil himself break into laughter. He attempts to hide it as a cough, but Chiron doesn’t buy it and shoots him a glare.

“Don’t think I’m letting you off the hook either, Jeongguk.” The boy sobers up. “You both know better.”

“Sorry, Chiron,” the apology simultaneously slips past both your lips.

The centaur sighs. “It was quite reckless to get both your cabins involved like that. It’s only the first full week of summer, and things are already this bad?”

You know he’s referring to the first time you and Jeongguk butted heads together. It was your second summer, and Jeongguk accidentally shot a canon of water in your face while you were practicing your archery. Your natural reaction was to shoot an arrow back at him. Obviously, you both got a mouthful from Mr. D afterwards.

Since then, as each summer’s gone by, it’s been little things—like tripping each other, spilling food on each other, causing the other to lose at games. This impromptu capture the flag is probably the worst thing you’ve both decided to do.

“I promise it won’t happen again,” you speak up, biting the inside of your cheek.

“Can you?” Chiron lifts a brow.

Suddenly, Jeongguk nods. “Yeah, I sure can. Because it was y/n’s idea in the first place—”

“Only because you made me do it!” you interrupt, facing him now. “It’s always you and your cocky attitude that gets us in trouble.”

“Well, what about your pride, huh? You’re too damn prideful to admit that you. Can. Be. Wrong,” he spats. “Have you thought about that?”

You are riled up; you can feel your body shaking. “I’m never wrong, Jeon Jeongguk.”

“I think that’s enough, you two.”

Taking a step back, you release a deep exhale and turn to face Chiron again. “Sorry…again.”

He just waves your words away and clears his throat. “I will let this incident go”—your ears perk up at that— “only if you two serve a punishment.”

Your stomach drops at his words. In all of your years here, you’ve never done anything bad enough to warrant a punishment. You’ve seen plenty of younger campers receive penalties in the past, but you’re eighteen now and the thought of having to do something embarrassing in front of the entire camp makes you nauseous. No one would let you live that down.

“How about cleaning the Pegasus stalls for a week?”

“A week?” you exasperate. Cleaning stalls was much better than doing something during the campfire, that’s for sure. But still—a week is a long time. You have campers to take care of. “I don’t have a week to spare just to clean—”

“Okay,” Chiron interrupts. “We’ll make it two.”

Jeongguk shoots you a death glare, but you can’t help the next words that tumble past your lips.

“But isn’t Taehyung in charge of the stables?” You refer to the son of Zeus. “Why the—”

“Should I make it a whole month?”

“Two weeks is perfect,” Jeongguk grits through his teeth.

“Okay, I expect you both to be at the stables sharp and early tomorrow morning then,” Chiron smiles. “Just be glad Dionysus isn’t here this week or you both would’ve had worse punishments.”

After he dismisses you both, you begrudgingly follow Jeongguk out of the Big House. By this point, it’s almost dinnertime and you really should make sure everyone in your cabin is already at the dining pavilion. As you’re lost in thought about what to eat for dinner tonight, Jeongguk suddenly turns around and forces you to stop in your tracks.

“Thanks a lot,” he practically spits out venom. “Your big mouth gave us an extra week with the Pegasi.”

“Looks who’s talking,” you frown. “You have the biggest mouth there is.”

“At least I know when to shut up,” he retorts. “Now, we have to clean the stables every damn morning.”

You roll your eyes. “Don’t act like I actually want to spend more time with you than I already do, Jeon.”

Bypassing him, you ignore his grunts of protest and make your way to Cabin Six. Outside of the gray building, you already see some of your half-siblings making their way to dinner. You greet a few of them, but they’re not who you’re looking for. Walking inside the cabin, you search the stacks of the books and finally find who you’re searching for. As if he knows you’re staring at him, he looks in your direction. “Hey.”

“Hey, Namjoon,” you wave at him.

He sets the book he’s holding down and begins walking towards you. “How did the meeting with Chiron go?”

“Oh,” you awkwardly scratch the back of your head. “Jeongguk and I have to clean the Pegasi stables for two weeks.”

Namjoon scrunches his nose at that. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Tell me about,” you sigh, and then look him in the eyes. “Because of that, would you mind helping me with counselor duties these next few weeks?”

“Sure,” he shrugs. “I mean, it can’t be that bad, right?”

You consider Kim Namjoon to be your second-in-command. As a son of Athena, he is equally as brilliant as you—if not more so—and is a natural born leader. And in all honesty, he could’ve been the head of the cabin; except, he didn’t want to. Something about how he’d rather spend his days doing more productive things.  

“Yeah,” you nod, “just make sure everyone’s awake in time for breakfast—you know how some of the kids can be without proper nutrition—and morning activities.”

Namjoon seems to ponder this for a moment before agreeing and you both head off to the dining pavilion. You’re thankful that there’s someone like him in your cabin, that you two get to be technical half-siblings. Because it’s going to be a long next two weeks.

That night at dinner, as you’re drinking from the pavilion goblets, you feel a pair of eyes burn the back of your head. You don’t even have to turn around to know it’s from table three. Jeongguk’s predictable like that. And as you throw your food offerings into the fire and prepare for the nightly campfire, you never feel his gaze leave you.

***

A part of you wants to blame the fact that you hate Jeongguk so much on your mother’s rivalry with his dad.

Ever since Athena became the patron saint of Athens, you know she’s had issues with Poseidon. You don’t know why—olives are so much better than a salty water spring anyway. But you do know that it’s possible for a child of wisdom and a child of the sea to be amicable. Maybe even be more than that.

However, at the end of the day, it’s really just because of you and Jeongguk.

Ever since you were thirteen and started your first year at camp, you’ve hated him. What started off as a simple dislike became this thing where you can’t even stand to be in the same room as him. Every half-blood knows that you both are rivals, which is why you’ve never willingly been on the same capture the flag team or on a quest together. Not that you’d want to anyway.

Which is why it makes this punishment so terrible. You have no doubt Chiron knew exactly what he was doing.

Despite your repulsion towards the son of Poseidon, you wake up before the sunrises—which isn’t entirely unusual for you. But what is unusual is that you don’t even have time to pick up a book or look through your laptop. You already have somewhere to be.

After you pull on your orange t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, you slip your sneakers on and make your way towards the stables. As you walk past the arena and volleyball courts, you’re surprised to see a few campers already walking around. A few of them give you curious glances, probably wondering why the head counselor of Athena’s cabin is outside at this hour; but you ignore their looks and continue marching ahead.

Once you make it to the stables, you already see Kim Taehyung unlocking the gate. He must hear you approaching because he turns around with a boxy smile on his face. “Good morning, y/n.”

You wonder how someone like him could be so cheery this early in the morning; on the surface, Taehyung appears rather nice—approachable, even. However, you know that he often has a storm brewing in his eyes. He isn’t afraid to zap people with lightning.

“Hey…”

“I’m so excited you and Jeongguk get to be here with the Pegasi. When Chiron told me about your p—I mean, when he mentioned that you guys would be helping, I thought it was very nice of him,” Taehyung finally unlocks the gate and beckons you to follow him.

Inside the stables, you notice that quite a few of the Pegasi are already awake and begging for attention. You pet one gently on the head, enjoying the soft hair underneath your fingers. Maybe this punishment wouldn’t be so bad.

“He wants to know if you have any carrots.”

Pulling your hand away, you realized you’re getting ahead of yourself. Looking towards the doorway, Jeongguk stands there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. You know he’s referring to the Pegasus, and you forgot that he could communicate with equines.

“Oh good, you’re here Jeongguk,” Taehyung claps a little too enthusiastically. “That way I don’t have to explain everything twice.”

The son of Zeus explains what he does every morning and every evening, and everything seems easy enough. All you and Jeongguk have to do is clean and feed the Pegasi. Taehyung mentions that he’ll swing by during the week if you two need help, but you let him know that he doesn’t have to do that—everything’s pretty self-explanatory.

“Also, you don’t have to worry about letting them out,” Taehyung continues. “Campers come to ride them during the day, so they should be fine when it’s nighttime.”

After he shows you two where everything is, Taehyung leaves you with the key and two to get to work. By the time you and Jeongguk are done with everything, it feels like hours have surely gone by. Although the work itself is easy enough, there are more Pegasi than you realized.

“How the hell does Taehyung do all of this by himself?” you ask once you put your broom away. You don’t expect an answer, but Jeongguk gives you one anyway.

“He’s been doing this since he got here. I guess he really likes Pegasi.”

Turning to face Jeongguk, you don’t miss the way sweat beads along his forehead and how he uses the bottom of his orange shirt to wipe it away. Your eyes travel down to the exposed skin of his abdomen, drinking in the sight of his tan and toned body. Before he can realize you’ve been staring for a second too long, you’re already halfway out of the stable.

Did I just check out Jeongguk? No, you shake your head; you were just looking at what was in front of you. Besides, he was talking to you anyway. You were not admiring him at all.

“What time are we supposed to meet back here?” his voice catches you before you can get too far.

You stop and turn back around. “I guess before the campfire?”

Jeongguk nods at that, and you proceed to ignore him for the rest of the day. At least, until you both have to be at the stables again later.

[intelligentdumbass]

My Sweet Prince (2.0)

“What do you do when you’ve done all that there is to do? When you’re too bored to do nothing and yet too tired to do something? When you want to talk but at the same time not?

Well, everyone knows I love to sing and, in times like those just described, I prefer to only sing to myself; to sit in the forest and play my cithara for no one in particular but the random fauna that decide to stay and watch.

…

It was a morning like any other, or at least it was supposed to be.

There was a prince, Hyacinthus, who had set off with his dogs to go hunt in the wooded outskirts of his kingdom. I imagined him to be confused, for it must’ve been quite the strange sight to behold; the trees nothing but silence for hours and hours on end. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, when he and his hounds managed to catch a scent, it was accompanied by a song, and the voice was not of a bird’s. It led them into a small clearing and instead of drawing his bow, the hunter froze.

There was, in the middle, what he perceived to be a fair maiden strumming on their lyre; golden hair shimmering under the sunlight as a wide range of animals sat around them. The young man was entranced, and so were his dogs, so for a while he just stared until the musician finally decided to acknowledge the new addition to their audience.

The notes slowly faded but, before the singer could say a word, Hyacinthus snapped out of it and spoke first.

“I’m sorry miss but… Who the hell are you?” He slowly approached, cautious of all the critters. “What in Zeus’ name is a lass like you doing out here of all places?”

I raised an eyebrow, but I decided to play along. “Oh you know… boredom.”

“I assume your father’s somewhere close by, then.” He glanced around, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh no, I came here to have some me time with myself.”

Hyacinthus looked dismayed. “Not even a brother, cousin, or a friend?”

I shook my head; he frowned.

“It’s not safe to be all alone out here.” He insisted. “As a prince, it is my duty to protect-”

And alas, it was in that moment that he had accidentally stepped on the tail of a lion. Fortunately, a second later, a silver arrow rushed by; barely missing the young man and piercing the cat’s heart. The rest of the animals took this as a sign to scram.

Hyacinthus blinked, and muttered a silent prayer to the god of archery. Ironically, this is what he said immediately after:

“See my point? Come on, I’ll escort you back.”

He reached his hand out to assist me, but only got a punch to the face in response. As he staggered back I took the opportunity to speak in my normal, deeper voice.

“Really??”

Needless to say, the mortal was mortified. Gazing into my sapphire eyes, he suddenly understood. He hastily tried to get his shit together, smiling in embarrassment.

“A-” “Apologies my lord. I suppose you’re just… that enchanting.”

I scanned him from head to toe. My instincts told me he wasn’t lying; it wasn’t merely empty flattery. “Hm… I suppose you’re not that bad yourself.”

“Ah well, of course! I’m Sparta’s heir after all.” He proudly exclaimed. “Still though, I am, uh terribly sorry for interrupting your song-”

“Save your apologies; it’s fine. I’m not going to smite you for that.” I sat down and placed the cithara back on my lap. “In fact, you’re welcome to stay if you so desire. I won’t mind.”

“But you said you wanted some time alone?”

“Away from the other gods, I mean.”

Hyacinthus was reluctant, but his puppers seemed eager to hear me continue my song.

“…alright. Only for a bit, if that’s okay with you, Lord Phoebus.” He said, sitting next to me; the dogs following suit. I suppose he had nothing better to do. Then again, how could he?

I smiled. “Please, just call me Apollo.”

Unbeknownst to Hyacinthus a ‘bit’ was quite the understatement. It was like time itself ceased to exist, and for once that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Soon the sun was setting and the prince was leading his pack back to the palace. I chose to stay. It was then that the west wind materialized before me.

“I was just passing by, so here’s a quick tip.” Zephyr murmured. “If I were you, I’d restrain myself. He’s already caught the eyes of two other gods and one mortal.”

“And you’re telling me this because?” A smile crept its way onto my lips.

“…what’s with that look?” He frowned; I said nothing as the god slowly fizzled out into thin air.

Hyacinthus had invited me to go out and hunt with him!

As expected of two skilled hunters, the trip went exceptionally well. Still, as we sprinted through the trees, I couldn’t help but sense the eyes of someone else; immediately knowing who it was. If Hyacinthus knew too, then he merely chose to ignore that suspiciously strong scent of spring. Still, I had a little sympathy for the intruder. The prince was easy to like, and I’m sure many have fallen for his bodily charms alone.

When we paused for a break, I said:

“Has anyone ever made a move on you before?”

Hyacinthus froze; I held in a chuckle. It was easy to see his attempt at holding my hand just as the question was asked.

“At least three other men have, but I’ve rejected them all.” He then quickly added, “That isn’t to say I’m only into woman though!”

I laughed. “Having trouble finding the right one?”

He stared a bit before suddenly grinning. “…Who knows, for all I know, I already have.”

My answer was a line I’ve paraphrased a hundred times. “Because I’m smart, talented, and very hot?”

“Maybe.” He inched closer. “But it’s also because of, or rather, how you smile.”

That response was a little… refreshing. A faint flush of red spread around my cheeks as I flashed a smirk, probably further proving his point. Then in the blink of an eye he leaned in; a hand holding my chin and his murmurs softer than any other breeze against my ear.

“May I?”

He only got a kiss in response.

However, even when the hunt was over and he was already making his way back home, I couldn’t help but… follow him back to Sparta, if only for a bit.

Turns out, Hyacinthus had showed up to his training with hundreds of flowers still intricately woven into his hair. It was hilarious how everyone else looked too scared to comment; well, except for Thamyris.

“What in the actual fuck?” He exclaimed.

“Okay, short version is: I fell asleep during the break after the hunting trip, so now there are a bunch of flowers in my hair.”

“Out of all of your suitors, you chose a god; hell, not just that, one of the fucking Olympians.”

“Who wouldn’t?”

I grinned, but then the other said: “Marpessa wouldn’t.”

…

Hyacinthus sighed. “Look, we all have our own preferences. Don’t tell me you’re jealous?”

“As if.” He turned around, about to leave. “Just don’t come back crying to me when shit goes downhill.”

I… suppose you could say that Thamyris had the kind of arrogance that reminded me of Marsyas. They both dabbled in music too. Hopefully he doesn’t end up making the same mistake that the satyr did. Thankfully, the prince seemed to be trying to ignore him.”

  “…You know you could’ve just said “Sorry I’m late, I stalked my date.”” Athena raised an eyebrow; yet her voice carried not a single trace of annoyance. Doing their father’s paperwork was a task she was well accustomed too, and a very boring one at that.

“Hey! For the record I didn’t stay any longer after that conversation he had with Thamyris. Plus, it’s not every day that I almost forget about my duties. I figured you’d want a thorough explanation.”

“Well, as long as it isn’t too thorough.”

The god laughed. “Oh wait, shit-” “What was I doing again?” His eyes scanned the documents he forgot he was holding.

The goddess sighed. There was but one thought in her mind.

‘This is going to start happening much more often now, isn’t it?’

And she was right.

A few days later, Hermes was swiftly flying through the halls until he stopped in front of the studio’s door. He carefully pushed it open, but despite being the lord of communication, he couldn’t utter a single word.  

It was late in the evening, and his brother wasn’t alone.

Apollo was sitting down, writing on a scroll, and behind him was a mortal curiously peering over his shoulder. Then the boy moved closer, and wrapped his arms around the blonde’s waist; tenderly whispering sweet nothings into his ear. To Hermes’ surprise, Apollo allowed himself to be pried away from his research.

The younger god decided to just slowly close the door.

Athena was right and apparently she didn’t seem to mind.

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

Thamyris wasn’t the only one with a complaint.

Hyacinthus was sitting under a cypress tree; trying to practice playing the lyre his lover had gifted him, when the breeze whispered into his ear.

“Look at it.” He said. “Your reflection in the water.”

The prince raised an eyebrow, but he glanced into the stream in front of him anyway. The top of his head was adorned with all sorts of flowers, no doubt due to the breath of the west wind.

“Hm… I think I liked it better when Apollo did it.”

Zephyr frowned; materializing seated down on his left.

“You’re not giving me a chance-”

“Except he already did.” Apollo sighed, suddenly appearing on Hyacinthus’ right. “For fates’ sake, take a hint and go blow someone else.”

The other god glared, but gave in, yet not before yelling something on a whim.

“So in one of the few times a mortal catches my fancy, you, who have already had many, get to have him instead?” He suddenly stood up. “You’re as greedy and insatiable with your lovers as you are with your domains.”

Apollo said nothing as the god disappeared into the wind.

Hyacinthus surprised him with a hug from behind.

“His argument is invalid. This isn’t just your choice, but mine as well.”

Still, after months and months of general bliss, the prince couldn’t help but ask:

“Those laurel wreaths you wear; they mean a lot to you, don’t they?”

The god felt his chest hurt. “Well, of course; there are many reasons as to why I care about them, one of them being that they remind me of something I shouldn’t ever forget because I don’t want to make a mistake like that ever again.”

There was a brief moment of hesitation before he continued.

“Hyacinthus?”

“Yeah?”

“Never doubt my feelings for you, okay?”

“I never did.”

“…even so, you really must know that, because of you, right now is the best I’ve ever felt in literal decades.”

“Oh don’t flatter me, sunshine.”

“You know I can’t lie. So really, trust me when I say that I’m here to stay.”

Hyacinthus’ eyes darted around the room as the musician’s head rested on his lap; the prince’s fingers twirling around in his golden locks. The floor was littered with paintings and marble statues of varying shapes and sizes scattered all over.

“Something caught your eye?” Apollo said as he saw his lover look at a painting of Crete. “You can take one of them home if you’d like.”

“Oh-” “Oh no it’s fine, really! I was just… enjoying the scenery.”

“Hm, you know I can take you there myself, right? Oooooh, imagine! A tour around Greece with yours truly.”

The boy smiled. His gaze shifted from a painting of Delphi to some art work of Leto, then Artemis, then Zeus, Athena and the rest of the other heavenly gods.

What he stared at the most were the ones next to those works about the Muses and the Thriae.

The names were many, Admetus, Cyrene, Branchus, Hecuba, Helenus… then there was Cassandra, Daphne, and an unfinished Coronis, and as he continued to look, the prince could’ve sworn he felt the god gently squeeze his hand.

“Everything alright, my Phoebus?”

The god smiled. “I’m just… tired.”

The prince leaned to give him a reassuring kiss.

Two years, or at least, about two years, their laughter almost lasted for about two years.

Alas, what’s two years in the life of an immortal that can never die?

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

Olympus’ garden was huge; its depths filled with paths most don’t even know of. It was here the two gods sat down on top of a small hill, right in front of a giant crevice that overlooked all of their creations.

“I hate how I can still feel a-” “and remember every single…”

Hermes was never good at these kinds of talks. “You wanna let it all out?”

Apollo sighed, carefully breathing in and then breathing out; repeating that process for a good minute.

Ai, ai, ai-

...

 “It was a morning like any other, or at least, it was supposed to be.

The prince was an athletic young man, much like us, and there were many things that were done on the field. One of them involved the discus. He’d always try to run and catch the disc once I had sent it hurling into the air.

…

The crack echoed- no, roared, and my body screamed like every bone in my system had snapped a hundred times over.

I was by his side in an instant, cradling him in my arms until he was nothing more than a poor flower that had broke its stem; all due to the breath of the west wind.

It was so… quiet and I was so close; close enough that I could feel him go, like I could reach out and grasp his hand to prevent his soul from drifting away. I felt it all: the desperate breaths, the steady weakening of his heart and that last flutter of his eyelids as he looked at me, as scared and overwhelmed as I was with all that was happening and yet I-

I still failed. I’m the god of healing and medicine and I was right there, I was so close and he still managed to slip away!

If only he could take me with him too.

It was like time itself ceased to exist, the exact second that last spark of life faded into the depths of Hades repeating on and on and on, again and again and again-

…

My arms were hugging a lump of ice by the time Artemis found me.”

 “…I heard you tried to murder Zephyrus?”

 “W-” “Well... I think I recall hearing father’s voice when I had rushed into the halls.

“Athena, Apollo’s neglecting his duties.” He said. “When was the last time you saw him walk into Olympus?”

“Give him some more time and I’m sure he’ll-”

It was then that someone, the bastard himself, had noticed me.

“Fear not my lord.” Zeus’ old messenger, the west shit, proudly exclaimed. “He’s already here!”

And indeed I was, fingers stained with crimson red; purple petals falling out of my hair.

A smile crept its way onto Zephyr’s lips. “You’re welcome.”

Needless to say, I immediately started chasing him with my bow.”

 “And then Athena stopped you, right?”

 --------------

It must’ve been quite the strange sight to behold for our winged eavesdropper. Apollo had a blank look in his eyes and Athena was standing in his way; Zephyr a little further down the hall behind her, curiously peaking over the corner.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Hermes was a lizard hiding inside of a jar.

“Athena, move.”

“Apollo,” Surprisingly, the goddess was perfectly calm. “Father has already retired him as his personal messenger, and he is now going to serve under Eros to repent for the very stupid thing he did in ‘the name of love’.”

“It’s not enough-”

“I know, and it’s never going to be enough.” Then she muttered. “Look, what happened with Pallas was much more justifiable than what this idiot wind bag did and even then, even if it was our father, to this day a tiny part of me is still pissed even if I knew he did it because he was worried about me.”

For a moment, the god was quiet. “Zephyr isn’t nearly as important.”

“But still crucial enough; I think it’d be best if we didn’t lose the west wind. Listen to your head, you know this isn’t worth it; it’s never going to be worth it.”

After a few seconds of silence, in the blink of an eye, Apollo was gone.

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

 “I really am unreasonable, aren’t I, Hermes? Crying over beings much lesser than myself…”

“You knew you had your heart set upon a mortal, so I guess it does sound foolish to grieve over their mortality but… I think we’re all a little unreasonable sometimes. On the brightside, I’m sure you’ll meet someone new eventually. You are Apollo after all.” He offers his friend a reassuring smile.

The blonde smiled back, yet his eyes were impossible to read. “I suppose…”

“Is there anything you want to say? To Hyacinthus, I mean, if I encounter him down in Hades.”

…

..

.

“If we should ever meet again

No matter how long the wait

No matter how many lifetimes it takes

My arms will be glad to welcome you in an embrace

Until then, just know

That even when man has forgotten my face

And I roam the world as nothing but a shade

Your memory will continue, forever living on

In all the flowers that the earth will cover itself, bearing your name

Goodnight, my sweet prince”

 And as Zeus’ newly appointed messenger left, Apollo decided to merely sing to himself; to sit on the hill and play his cithara for no one in particular but the random fauna that decide to stay and watch.

Athena was surprised to see him enter Olympus only a week after, even though she should’ve seen it coming. He is Apollo after all.

There were duties to fulfill.

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

(The original one I made)

[blindlesbian]

A christmas buddie fic

This fic is for @fyeahbuddie​ for the 911 gift exchange. @officerrxyes​ Buck was in Eddie's kitchen baking festive cookies with Chris on Christmas Eve. He thought it would be the perfect way to wind down, but it ended up being harder than he imagined. Eddie accidentally added way more. Instead of twenty cookies, they were now baking forty. All three had spent the day out, hanging with friends and family. Unlike last year the 118 wasn't scheduled to work for the holiday, which everyone was thankful for. "How much longer is dad gonna be," Chris asked. Eddie was out buying more frosting because they'd run out. Chris was eager to finish decorating his cookies, and so was Buck. 

"Soon, don't worry." By the time the last batch of cookies finished baking, Eddie had arrived. "Hey guys, I got the stuff!" Chris squealed, "hurry, dad, I wanna decorate my snowman!"  After about an hour of eating and decorating, Chris was put to bed a little past his bedtime. Buck was still in the kitchen, washing dishes because they didn't clean up while they worked. "Buck, thanks for doing this tonight," Eddie said, leaning against the door frame. "Yeah, of course, no problem. You know I love hanging out with Chris." Eddie walked over to the sink, "let me help you out." Buck sat down at the kitchen table with a tired sigh after they finished, "next time, let's not bake cookies from scratch. It's more stressful than rescuing people from burning buildings ." He joked, and Eddie chuckled. He loved making Eddie laugh. "Do you want a drink?" Eddie asked, pulling out a bottle of wine from the cabinet. "Yes, please," Buck said. Eddie handed him a full glass, and they walked over to the couch. "I'm glad we have these two days off. Last year was a bit of a bummer," Buck stated. "You did an amazing job with the surprise Christmas dinner last year. It was super sweet." Eddie said. Buck blushed, "it was nothing." They were lying on their backs on Eddie's living room floor, Buck's head resting on Eddie's chest. Neither of them dared to move; they wanted to stay like this, however long it would last. Moments like this started happening more often, where they would hold each other or touch on another as if they were together. They kept talking and drinking and time flew by. By now, they were drunk and having conversations about their childhood Christmases. "I remember when I was a senior in high school, my parents forgot about Christmas for like, the third year in a row. They were too busy trying to sell the house," Buck said. "They were always too busy for Maddie and me. But always had time to go to some stupid work event."  Eddie ran his fingers through Buck's hair. He stayed quiet, trying to figure out the most comforting to say.Buck sighed, "I'm sorry; I'm treating you like a therapist." "No, you're not," Eddie said. "Yes, I am. You don't even care," Buck stated. Eddie held Buck's chin, gently turning his face so he could look at him. "No, don't say that. I care about what you have to say." There was a moment of silence, and they just stared into each other's eyes. "I want to make you feel safe and heard." Eddie realized he was still holding Buck's face, nearly caressing it. Eddie wanted to kiss him so badly, but they were drunk, and he had no idea how Buck felt. "Eddie," was all Buck could mutter. His heart raced, he hopped Eddie couldn't feel it. Buck was just drunk enough to lean in, just a little. He hoped Eddie got the hint, but his hand let go. "It's already late. Maybe we should get some sleep; we've got a busy day tomorrow." Eddie suggested. Buck's heart sank. "Yeah, you're right," Buck sighed and slowly sat up. Words couldn't explain how stupid he felt; he couldn't believe he thought Eddie would feel the same way. "Goodnight," Eddie said, quickly exiting the living room, leaving Buck with the stupid wine bottle and glasses. ---Eddie woke up the next morning feeling like an idiot. How could he just leave like that, Eddie wondered? Last night's memories were hitting him like a wave, the conversations, how close they were, how drunk they were, Buck's head on his chest. He let his mind wander, thinking about all the things he and Buck will never have together. His alarm went off, disrupting Eddie's thoughts. It was only six-thirty, and Chris wasn't going to be awake for another hour and a half. And Buck was still here, but he didn't want to face him. He didn't want to ruin the perfect memory of last night with reality. Eddie tested the waters with a "u up" text and immediately cringed. "Yea, wanna make breakfast together?" was what Buck sent back. Eddie grinned at the reader like a child. He skipped out of bed and quickly brushed his teeth. "Hey, Merry Christmas," Buck said. His beaming smile made Eddie's heart skip a beat. "Merry Christmas," Eddie said. He looked at the kitchen counter; it was already a mess." Why does my kitchen look like this," Eddie asked. "Because I was looking for bacon," Buck said. Eddie rubbed his temple, "I don't have any bacon." "Oh," Buck giggled, and Eddie couldn't help but laugh too. "Let's just make pancakes," Buck suggested. After putting everything back into the fridge, they began working. Buck knew he was the better cook between the two, and things would've gone a lot faster he did it himself, but he loved doing things with Eddie. "How come mine keeps ending up like that," Eddie asked. They were both standing over separate burners, cooking the pancake mix. "Because you're holding it wrong, lean the pan a bit," Buck instructed. "Like this," Eddie asked. He was still holding it wrong. Buck hesitated for a moment before walking behind Eddie and snaking his hand over Eddie's. "Like that," Eddie asked. "Yeah, like that, Buck assured.  Buck's chest was pressed against Eddie's back. It was just like the night; they didn't mention how close they were to each other; they just enjoyed it. They were on their last pancake. "Good job," was all that Buck could say. He didn't want to make it weird, but this whole situation was strange. He wanted to be with his best friend, who had a kid and was married a few years ago. Buck let go of his hand and walked back over to his burner.  —- It was New Year’s Eve, and Eddie was replaying those two days in his head over and over again, trying to figure what he did wrong. Buck had been distant for a week, only a few conversations at work. “See you guys tonight,” Bobby said as they exited the firehouse. “Captain Maddie and I can only be there for an hour. We don’t wanna be away from the baby for too long,” Chimney informed. “Yeah, Mia is the same way. So I’ll also be leaving early, Hen stated. “No worries, guys,” Bobby said. “But you two will be there all night right,” Bobby asked. “Yeah, you bet, Cap,” Buck said. “Yeah, Chris and I be there all night.  He’s going through a don’t tell me when to go to sleep phase,” Eddie said. They all chuckled, said their goodbyes, and entered their cars. —-Eddie arrived with Chris on time, and the party was already in full swing. Their coworkers, family, and friends were there. “Hey Eddie, hi Chris,” Athena greeted them at the door Harry by her side. “Do you wanna play video games in my room with Denny and me,” Harry asked. Chris turned to look at Eddie, “go ahead. Be safe.” Eddie said, and the boys went off. “What’s been going on between you and Buck,” Athena asked. “Nothing’s wrong, we’re fine,” Eddie lied. Athena raised her eyebrow, “you two are usually joined at the hip, but you came here alone.” “Wow, those detective skills are top-notch,” Eddie joked, but she didn’t laugh. “Buck has been on the phone with Bobby every day, asking him for advice about you. It’s interfering with my life, so please just apologize so I can sleep peacefully,” Athena said. “But that’s the thing. There wasn’t a fight; he just stopped talking to me. I don’t know why,” Eddie explains. “You don’t know why you’re best friend is upset,” Athena asked. Eddie thought about last week for the hundredth time. Did Buck have a problem with how close they were? Did he make him uncomfortable? “Maybe I do know why,” Eddie said. —- "Hey, there you are," Buck heard Eddie say. Eddie had been searching for Buck almost all night. He was sitting on a swing bench in the backyard of Athena and Bobby's house. Eddie stood a few feet away from him as if he was terrified to go near him. "Yeah, here I am," Buck muttered. There was so much Buck wanted to say but said nothing at all. "Can I sit next to you," Eddie asked. Buck nodded, and Eddie walked over and sat down. "Did I do something wrong," Eddie asked, breaking the silence. A look of confusion swiped Buck's face. "No, of course not," Buck said. "Then why are you telling Bobby that we're fighting," Eddie asked, a little annoyed. "I never told him we were fighting; I told him that I messed up our friendship," Buck said. Now Eddie was beyond annoyed, "why would you say that. How could you have ruined our friendship?" There was a long pause. Eddie was sick of the silence."Because... I have feelings for you," Buck confessed, "and we can't be friends if I like you. It's just too weird." He couldn't even look at Eddie while he said this. "Evan, look at me," Eddie begged softly, "please." Buck scanned Eddie's face trying to figure out what he would say next. Eddie's eyes were watery, but Buck couldn't tell if it was because of the cold wind or if he was upset. Eddie held Buck's face, and Buck nearly melted. "I have a feeling for you too," Eddie stated, his voice a little shaky. And just like that, Buck was crashing his lips onto Eddie's. Everything they've ever wanted to say to one another was spoken at that moment. Eddie's hand found their way to Buck's hair, and Buck was holding on to Eddie's waist for dear life. They heard the New Year’s countdown starting, and Eddie pulled away. “Maybe we should join everyone,” Eddie suggested. Buck groaned, “fine.” They shared one last kiss and walked back into the party. A new year, a fresh start to their relationship.

[notfeelingthyaster]

Imagine (Son of Hades! Percy; Godswapped! Big Three's kids) (7/8) or (12/13)

Blood of Olympus pt. 1 - The Aftermath

Hello! So there I go dividing more stuff - oh well, what did you expect? Before reading, make sure to check the masterpost - there's a lot before this.

Before anything, I want to apologize. A reader brought to my attention that I had not put on trigger warnings - a mistake that I corrected as soon as I could. I apologize if I accidentally triggered anyone. I'm sorry, I won't do that again. Check the masterpost for the warnings before proceeding and tell me if I forgot any. So, anyway. Good reading, enjoy!! :))

They're traveling to Athens. It's slower because the winds don't cooperate - but they have some time. They have to be there by August 30th, so ten days.

It's good, Annabeth thinks. It gives her time. Time to plan, to strategize. To hope a part of her best friend, the only remnant of her teenage years that is not dead or off serving the gods, is not still in the Pit.

She keeps herself occupied - between maps, research, and daily messages from Reyna and Malcolm, Annabeth has not a lot of time to ponder.

But when she does - and she does anyway, because Annabeth is a solver. Is what she does, she solves problems - but she has no idea how to fix her best friend.

Percy - Perseus, really, because this is him in full combat mode - has been awake for exactly a day and a half. Literally.

He doesn't sleep - mostly, he just patrols. It doesn't seem to affect him much. At least he is eating. Oh yes, the eating - he eats like the food is going to be taken from him at any second, and as much as he can.

She can't help but be scared - he has the same scar, at the same place. If Annabeth is a little affected by it, how is he dealing with the remainder of the son of Hermes?

Annabeth knows rationally that she can't blame him for not talking to anyone, for acting differently. But it hurts, that he won't confide in any of them, in her - not about what happened down there.

It's been a day and a half. He was in the Pit for more or less twenty days - and time in the Underworld is different. What if he was stuck there for years in his perspective? What did he see there?

These are questions that, unfortunately, only Perseus could answer. And he is deflecting. Well, at least he looks closer to crashing when they trade places at patrol - Annabeth will wait until he is ready, but she really hopes is soon.

Sometimes, when she is alone, she wishes none of this ever happened. If they were in power, maybe this wouldn't happen - it's not hubris, right? To see that they would be better than the gods?

The daughter of Athena is not alone in worrying. Most of the crew share different levels of concern - mostly prominent in Will, who saw all of Percy's scars and is torn between wanting to know how he got them, and never asking for fear of the answer.

Leo is surprised to notice that he is also very worried about the health aspect. He is not a person that generally focuses on humans - but this is different. He saw prosthetics before - Hephaestus cabin does a lot of them - and this kind of amputation? Very traumatic. People took a lot of time to adapt - Jake amputated his foot eight months ago and he is still having phantom limb pain and disassociating from it.

Okay that Perseus' new leg is a marvel of engineering that Leo's hands are itching to dismantle to see how it works - alas, Daedalus never left the blueprints of his fake body in Annabeth's laptop, he asked - but how did he deal with it in the middle of a wasteland?

Everything came full circle when the boy in question finally crashes - Nico is the first one to wake up with the screams. They aren't shrieks, nor words, just sheer screams of pure horror.

When he is out of his door, sword at hand, all the other cabins are opening too - Jason is the last to come down, being in the deck in patrol.

Perseus' door is cold. There's no other name for it - there's an aura of pure death around it, covering the entire hallway in a dreadful mood. It curls around Nico's spine - he can feel the shiver in his bones.

The one who opens it is Hazel, the one who seems least affected by the cold - it's so easy to forget that she was dead once. Perseus is immobile in the bed, his mouth open in the awful scream.

Before Will can stop him, Nico goes to wake Perseus up. He has no idea how to deal with the situation, but he cannot keep hearing this. Piper tries to hold his arm to stop him, but she is still sleep ridden.

The son of Zeus barely touches the other demigod - his fingers barely skimming Perseus' arm - and he is pinned to the wall, an ax he didn't even seem prepared to slash at him, with a tiger growling behind Perseus.

Nico suddenly feels like his true age. His whole body tires and sags, and he feels the drawn in his bones - it's only a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity. He wants to drop down - to rest and let his slumber carry his soul away.

He closes his eyes - expecting either the slash of the blade or the tiredness to take him away - but neither happens.

"STOP"

It's Piper. It works - more or less. Perseus doesn't immediately drop everything - the light just seems to return to his eyes. They are black still, but the vines of green are back, creeping towards his pupils.

"Oh. Oh shit. Shit shit shit. Nico. I... I... I'm s-sorry... Oh gods I'm so, so, so s-sorry I-... I didn't... I didn't t-think... I-... this, this wasn't s-su-su... supposed to happen! This wasn't supposed t-to c-come with me!"

Perseus worked himself into a frenzy. He is in a corner of his room now, his ax left behind, but the tiger firmly in front of his master. None of the others have noticed Nico's strength leaving him. The son of Zeus half thinks he imagined it.

"No... no. No. No, no, no. No touching. No touching. No. No touching."

Perseus is almost trembling, but he is not crying. Nico realizes that he saw Perseus cry only once - when Luke was spread on the floor of the Olympus, Annabeth's dagger buried to the hilt in his tight. He wonders if the hero ever cried for himself.

The son of Zeus - and most of their friends that took a step forward - put their hands up, take a step back. Perseus seems calmer.

They don't talk about it. Nico suspects something happened - he felt so tired. He felt eighty - his body decaying around him. But nobody mentioned it - and when they left Percy alone, it was like it was just a nightmare.

PTSD, Will called it. Anxiety after days of being hunted through hell - the trauma still fixed on his mind, the idea of being in danger every second of every day. Depending on the outcome of this war, they might all have it by the end of it, if they don't already.

But Nico knows there's more to it. He would pass it up as a figment of his imagination if Perseus touched anyone. But he doesn't - he avoids even looking at people for too long.

He tries to bring up the topic with Annabeth - the gloves, the sweaters back. She thinks that it's comfort, something to tether him into reality.

Nico doesn't believe that - he doesn't think she does either. He had his own struggles with anxiety for years, but he has no time for pushing. After that night, Perseus doesn't scream again - one has to wonder if he is even sleeping at all.

Nico wants to help. For once, correct something that he knows it's his mistake no matter how many times they deny it. It's how he finds himself in the third night hovering in Perseus' door.

This is not really a smart idea - because the other demigod notices and opens it, so tired - there are bags under his eyes, but the ax is held precariously in his hand.

"What is it, Nico?"

The correct answer would be "Sorry, didn't mean to bother you." But Nico's dumbass teenager mind stutters.

"I... I wanted to check on you. Are you okay? I... I just noticed that you seem kinda weird."

Percy is not angry or resentful - he doesn't even slam the door in his face as Nico would probably do. He is just tired, and that's a thousand times worse.

"Why... why do you care?"

"We are friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, sure. Kind of." The "you never bothered before" goes unsaid.

It stings, but it's not a lie. Their past is turbulent - a lot of misunderstandings and mistakes on Nico's side, a lot of grudges and overreacting on Percy's. Still, they fought in a war together. They're still fighting.

"I care about you" He hopes Percy doesn't see the blatant subtext "Something happened - don't... d-don't shut me out. I did that when Bianca... died. Nothing good came out of that."

Perseus takes a deep breath - he looks exhausted to the bone. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to mention Bianca. One of his hands tremble - Nico sees that no parts of his body touch the mechanical leg, ever.

"Something happened. I fell down into hell." He must see the flinch Nico gives, and breaths out "Sorry. That was harsh. It... it wasn't your fault. It's nobody's fault."

Something in his eyes tells Nico that he does blame someone - not him, but maybe Arachne. Or the gods. Or Annabeth. Or worse, himself.

Well, that couldn't stand.

"I know" He doesn't, but that's not the moment "But you need help. I can help."

Nico makes a move to touch Perseus' arm - it's a bad idea because his whole body flinches away.

"I don't. I don't want your help."

It's uncalled for, and it hurts on Nico's pride - of course, he wouldn't need Nico's help. What did Nico ever do to him? Was his touch so unwelcomed? Well, if he thinks he can do it alone, Nico should leave him to it.

"Sure, suit yourself. I won't bother again."

Perseus sighs again when the sixteen-year-old leaves. He doesn't want to hurt Nico - gods know that he should, dammit his weak spot for cute people that would drive a knife through his back - but they should leave him alone. He is fine. He'll be fine.

Hazel is also worried - mainly for the backlash of the coming back to the natural, living world. For her, it was weeks of adaptation - to air, breathing, the sun. And Perseus was in a worse place even.

Sometimes she wonders if the Tartarus shouldn't have been her weight to carry - if the Underworld shouldn't be her place. Hazel loves the surface - Nico, Leo, and Frank, and warmth - but there's a part of her that will forever be under a sad tree in the Fields of Asphodel.

Perseus is nothing but kind - he saved her. He saved all of them - not only from danger - but from themselves. And she is too chicken to help, after listening to her brother whine about his own experience.

Her only comfort comes when she is able to cuddle with Leo - Leo, her Leo, her soon-to-be Leo. While Frank is older and her crush for him never diminished, her own for Leo only grew.

That's why, when her patrol is ending on the fourth morning and Leo emerges from the belly of the ship, covered in grease and clutching an ash-covered wrench, talking under his breath about a thing or another, she goes khaki wacky and plants one on him.

Leo flays a little - Hazel is from the 40s. She thinks maybe this is being too forward - even if in Nova Roma, this isn't uncommon behavior. Girls are able to kiss boys - it's not being a sharecrop anymore.

The boy takes a deep breath - like he can't believe this small closed mouth smooch is happening and gives her a grin.

"Hi sugar, are you rationed?"

She laughs until her belly hurts, and they smooch again - no tongue, no open mouth. Leo blushes horribly - and it's easy to see under the grease.

When this war ends, it'll be she. And Leo. And Frank. Their lives are too short to spend pining and pondering - she sees her brother every day, and that's not what she wants.

After the war, there will be no wars. There will be no quests and no killing - just peace. Heroes get to have peace - like the original Jason. The gods are not ruining this for Hazel anymore. So she walks Leo to the front of the ship, so they can watch the sunrise together.

In the afternoon of their fourth day, they fight against a mixed group of monsters - and that's the day Piper actively begins to see the changes on Perseus.

She likes him a lot - he is an amazing friend - but he has no mercy. He annihilates two-thirds of the obstacle Gaea sent for them. It's a sight to see - because he is not close to the ground. There are no skeletons, no vines, no metal, no shadow under the sun of the middle of the day.

It's just him, his ax, and a skeleton tiger. Perseus doesn't even do it cleanly - there are blood, ichor, and dust smeared all across the floor and through his clothes. He twirls the blade around, and they don't even see him as he chops up monsters left and right.

Some try to flee - he doesn't let them. Something keeps them in the ship - and Piper would bet is Perseus, for he just keeps slaughtering them. She doesn't feel bad for them - this is war. They would kill the demigods, exactly like he is doing.

Piper is... curious. She wonders if he would rip the gods apart too - if they would bleed as much as some monsters, of if they would just turn into dust. If Perseus needs to cut them in pieces and scatter them on the Pit himself.

She isn't the only one - she sees the reluctant lust in Nico's and Jason's eyes, the sheer possibilities blooming in Annabeth's eyes. She sees fear mix with interest - Piper sees everything.

She doesn't think Perseus is well, or better. He isn't telling them shit for some reason after all. You don't go to hell and get on with life. Piper doesn't trust him to not turn on them - she knows him for about a month and a half now, a third of which he was in hell - but if he is going to destroy someone, is probably Gaea. Or the gods - she isn't bothered either way.

They are all dangerous. Reality-changing, world-ending dangerous. A skilled warrior? That doesn't scare Piper. Not anymore. Not in the middle of a war.

"Huh. Can you teach me?"

Perseus gives her a feral smile. Across his cheek, there's a streak of gold - for a second, Piper wonders if he is not a god himself.

Annabeth wonders if the gods will let them survive after the war. They got too powerful, too much. Sometimes, she looks at their eyes and sees they're more god then men. Their powers accumulate - evolve. Better.

Before, she was a sharp mind. Now Annabeth feels her godly blood spurning her further and further - no longer just mind, but the body. She sees attacks before they come - she is a goddess.

And she likes it. The power coursing through her veins - the ability to control. She then swears to herself they'll be that way - forever.

The following day, they stop by an island - Perseus feels a big gathering of ghosts. It's Odysseus' palace. They go in a group to investigate: Perseus himself, Hazel for her mist, Annabeth and Will. Nico would go - but he hasn't talked to Perseus for two days now, and is mostly sulking.

Annabeth - who is as cunning as Odysseus himself once was - asks Hazel to cloak her as a beggar. She asks around - but all suitors give vague answers. Even her wordplay cannot get a single phrase out of the ghosts.

Until Perseus puts her hands on a ghost - Eurymachus is his name - and the ghost is possessed - it tells them anything. Annabeth is clocking information from it - devouring with an avid look. Her grey eyes gleam in the blueish light of the spirits.

For Will, is almost otherworldly. It's Hades and Athena. It's more - it's Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase, controlling and pushing something they never did before.

They trade looks, and their glowing hands stay entwined long after the ghost tells them that Apollo no longer controls Delphi and that Nike is lost - running free.

Victory, Perseus thinks, Victory. A goddess so vain, that she thought the tides of war depend only on her - not on Tyche, or Bia, Enyo, and Ares. So many gods of war - so many superiors - and she thought herself capable of defying them - and the demigods. For a charioteer, Nike is quite a proud little goddess, isn't she?

So they have their next goal - finding the elusive arrogant dickhead - and following travel to Athens. With Victory on their side or not.

With the glowing phantom, their disguise is blown. Perseus himself was never proficient with ghosts - but he is very proficient with his Ax, and that cut spirits very well.

They fight - but Perseus is just so tired. He just wants them all to go away. With his powers fully restored, even if the earth doesn't obey him anymore, increasingly possessed by Gaea, the shadows should.

He is fond of his shadows - they are a comforting presence, so different from the corrupted ones of Tartarus. He revels in them - Perseus is their master. As he is master of the green ghostly fire, that seems to burn the spirits away.

He hopes sincerely that they don't even get the pleasure of the Fields of Punishment. He hopes they disappear forever in the void - Perseus has no time for petty enemies anymore in this long war which has absolutely nothing to do with them.

Will is hurt in the side - a gladius - but doesn't stay like that. As they climb back to the ship, his wound closes under the fiery light of the morning sun across his fingers - magic that was supposed to help only others, and never himself.

His father disappears, and Will is getting more power. He is not the only one - Perseus fear they'll become too much like their parents, that their powers will amplify their faults and take their humanity away - but is he even human anymore?

He looks at his "leg". It's not him - he is a cyborg. There's a dead piece of metal in him. Perseus could feel the vitality around him - their sheer youth, blazing like a light to burn all the empires. He could take it all for himself. He could kill them all, grind them to dust - they wouldn't even have time to fight him.

Perseus could take it all for himself - become immortal, a parasite latching unto others - how does that make him human? How is he any better than a flea?

They decide on a group to go to Olympia after lunch - Percy, Leo, Hazel, Nico. Four is a good number - a solid number, made of people who are non-competitive. The ones who loathe themselves - isn't this fun? Maybe they'll debate who is the worst.

They divide when they get to the island - Leo and Hazel go one way, the Nico and Percy go the other - Leo is the one to engineer it, but Percy wholeheartedly approves - it's tiring to coexist with a passive-aggressive Nico. He is done with this situation.

While the couple walks, Nico and Percy stand in awkward silence, side by side. Eventually, Percy sighs - he doesn't want to cave, but they have bigger problems to work on, and he kinda misses Nico's sarcasm.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being harsh with you."

"No, you aren't."

"I am!"

"Will you let me help you? Will you let anyone help you?"

"I don't need help. I'm better."

"Then let me touch your hand."

"Go on."

"With no gloves."

"What? Why? No!"

"See? You aren't better!"

"We're in the middle of a war. I was in Tartarus a week ago."

"Promise me then. Promise me that after the war, you'll get help."

"Nico..."

"Promise me Percy. And don't... don't break this one."

It's the lowest of low blows, but Percy's acquiesces. They start talking - stiltedly. Percy still doesn't touch him. Then Nico sprouts something he'll later regret (or maybe not): Calypso is again locked up.

Nico sees now - before, when Perseus was mad, the earth trembled. With no earth to answer to him, the shadows curled around his ankles and his covered fingertips - rounding behind his ear and on the curve of his smirk.

The son of Zeus is not a fearful person - but that doesn't make him afraid. It makes him remember why he is so infatuated with Perseus - he is not only a hero - he is more. He is a rebel and a challenge - Perseus only follows his own rules. It's a bravery Nico lacks, and one that attracts him like a moth to a fire.

Perseus just asks him to repeat, and then hums when he does, stuttering over his stupid blush. It's mercy that the demigod is not looking in his direction.

"Fret not, Nico. Let Calypso enjoy her vacation. The beaches are really pretty this time of the year."

It's scary - there's no one in Percy's voice. It's like the demigod is on the brick of a really bad meltdown - but they both know they don't have time for it now. So Perseus breathes in - once, twice.

Calypso will be free, and he is not even using his winning wish for it - he already used one once. She did nothing wrong, they are the oathbreakers. Perseus should know better than to trust any oath in a river that they never put a finger on.

So he lies back on the rock. If they survive - when, because he didn't go to hell to die because of Tartarus' less impressive sister - she'll be free. And well prized for this stunt.

Leo and Hazel get back accompanied by Tempest, who, again, appears always following some big revelation - maybe the venti also serves Hazel's new mistress.

The group heads towards the ruins which are roughly twenty kilometers wide. They decide to walk through them, looking for something to pop up - the earth doesn't answer to Perseus, but that doesn't mean that he can't feel the power on it. Eventually, they head toward the Temple of Zeus where an old Nike statue used to stand.

Leo provokes the goddess to come forth by hurling insults at the Nike brand - it's his specialty, sassing up gods. Perseus is more of a shade kind of guy if he can say so himself.

The goddess' Roman and Greek side, Nike and Victoria, are at war with each other trying to decide which side will be victorious. It's ridiculous.

The goddess challenges the four to a fight to the death, with the Romans and Greeks against each other. But there are no Romans and Greeks here. Nico and Perseus lived on both sides - and even if Hazel is Roman-inclined and Leo didn't have time to meet Nova Roma, it doesn't change anything. They wouldn't fight each other.

The time to fight is long gone - they should be rallying against Gaea. But Nike is too proud to admit to a tie - to both sides of herself to have peace.

She demands them to fight in an arena and gives them four minutes to be present. To make sure that they get there she sends four metal statues after them. But instead of fighting each other, they will fight the goddess.

Nike can try and influence their minds - but in the end, with her so weak, battling against herself, it's no match for four strong-willed demigods. Perseus is so tired of gods with petty struggles in the middle of something so much bigger.

The goddess-es fight for him and Nico - what side should they be. They trade verbal blows - Senatus, Praetor, Titan War are all used as arguments.

Funny isn't it? She wasn't on his side a month ago. Perseus fell - into the depths of the abysm - and while he won - again, and again, and again - it wasn't truly a divine victory.

It was not her victory. The merit is his, only his. She didn't sweep down in her great golden wings to save him, did her? Nor will she help with a war to save herself and her family. So why should she exist at all? Why should Perseus abstain from draining her and...

Perseus clenches his fists - he can't, he won't kill Victory. That's not him. He is not a murderer. That's just the remnants of the Pit in his good-for-nothing mind.

She is horrible - but if she dies, she'll end up in Tartarus. And not even her colossal hubris deserves that.

So, they subdue her - her powers aren't enough to stop the four of them, not when Percy alone and twelve defeated her superior - Ares himself. And, when defeated, Nike concedes her blessing for the upcoming war - they just won Victory.

It's a good omen - but she does advise them that one of them shall die - and that they would need the Physician's Cure.

When they go back to the board, Annabeth and Will start researching - both of them know the name, but can't link it to anything else. They find it in the Infirmary Archives - some that Will brought for light reading. It's not very hopeful, since none of them are brewers, but Hazel is a magic user and Will is a healer - they can do this.

Daedalus laptop holds the answers to the formula: Pylosian Mint, Makhai, and the Curse of Delos. They would also need Asclepius himself - but seeing that he was condemned to Tartarus and probably still there, it's more probable they'll do this themselves.

Frank, Jason, and Annabeth go to the port of Pylos looking for the poison - obvious options for the small mission nearby water.

They walk for a while. Annabeth notices a weird tension between Frank and Jason - Frank is giving Jason pointed looks, while Jason gives Frank worried ones - that has been that way for a few days now.

She couldn't possibly know that was about not only Jason's obvious crush on Perseus - which Frank is pushing the blonde to act on - but about Frank's own feelings.

Yesterday morning, while Frank was coming to take his shift on the patrol, he saw Hazel and Leo kissing. And the worst part is that he is not only sad but longing.

He is not jealous. He wants that - he wants all. Is too much and he doesn't deserve it - Frank feels so small, compared to the demigods he is traveling with. And with such... disgusting desires. The son of Mars only feels guilty - he has to erase this from his mind.

Eventually, Annabeth helps Frank to force an old soldier ghost to give them answers - she tells them they need to go to Nestor's Cave and gives them the directions.

Frank goes in and talks to a man who hands him a bottle. The son of Mars explains that his cousins, other descendants of Pluto, have been living there for generations.

They dinner together - Jason is not very welcomed. Most people there still remember the last war - and aren't all that fond of the progeny of Poseidon and Zeus - but as they are close to the sea, at least they're civil.

Some of them recount fondly about their own days at Nova Roma - they are all clear-sighted mortals, even if the godly blood is too diluted in their veins, but these are the ones that have it closer - great-grandkids of minor gods attracted to the old blood.

There's even a daughter of a minor river deity - and a pair of twins that are direct descendants of Juventa, in her travels to visit Hercules. It's an overall paradise, in the middle of a war.

Annabeth misses her dad. And Thalia. And Luke. She misses having a family - she wonders if this war will turn her unrecognizable - or else if it already did. If they are too godly for the mortal world - if they shouldn't take their rightful place.

As a parting gift, the cousins gave Frank the small vile of poison - it's the Pylosian Mint, the first piece to their puzzle. Before leaving, they tell the trio about a chained god, in Sparta.

They go back to the ship - in the mess hall, Frank muses that the chained god might be Ares because the Spartans believed that if they chained him up the spirit of war would never leave them.

Hazel disagrees - she thinks it might be Aphrodite Areia - Sparta was the first place where the goddess was worshiped, and if the Romans have aspects, wouldn't the greeks too? It's quickly shot down - Dyonisus said they were reborn - their aspects changing with their cult, if they weren't worshipped at the same time.

Perseus thinks he heard once that Aphrodite Ourania, Aphrodite Areia, and Aphrodite Pandemos were worshipped at the same time - but doesn't mention it. It doesn't seem important - he might be wrong.

Piper herself argues that it might be one of their sons - Anteros, Himeros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Pothos, or Eros - for which Jason, Nico, and Frank flinch - they wouldn't want to meet the divine couple's offspring again.

Other possibilities are the Erotes - which seems to make Piper happy, for one of them is Hermaphroditus theyself - or one of Ares or Aphrodite other children - too many to list here.

Anyway, they set course to Sparta - for the happiness of Annabeth and the general tiredness of the group. It is like an RPG play - Nico muses - they have a ton of mini-quests. It's tiring, and it's boring - flicking like bees after something or other for a bigger purpose that never seems to come.

They go to sleep, and Piper has a vision: it's her, Annabeth, and Hazel, running through the ruins of a temple - the temple of Phobos, her half brother. There's blood on the blonde's forehead - and Piper looks like she did before.

She doesn't want to go there. It's fear - she understands it - but that's one fear she is not keen on facing. Her old short hair, the boy clothes, the adam's apple, the stubble.

But they need this - someone might die. Someone will need this. So damn her half-brother. Her mother promised her, that when this ends she'll be herself like she always wanted.

So she goes and tells the group - no one is really happy to send them to somewhere they might get hurt - especially because the last time Annabeth went on a mission on the Underground, shit happened - but the daughter of Athena starts to list all of their mistakes and they have no real say in what the girls do, so off they go, into Sparta.

The six boys stay behind - but no one is slacking. Will ropes Frank into helping to research for anything they might have on the Physician's Cure; Leo finally convinces Perseus to have a look at his leg - even if just to see how much time before Perseus has to go to the Phlegethon to get more fuel; and Nico and Jason are stuck in patrol together.

Which is no good - they haven't really talked since the Cupid episode, and the last few days, the worry about Perseus and the small missions clouded everyone's personal turmoils. But now that the son of Hades is somehow adapting, they have time.

And time is a dangerous thing. Before the two weren't alone in the ship - there was always one on the mission, one otherwise occupied. Leo - and probably Frank and Piper - have been running interference.

Jason had no courage to approach Perseus, as Nico did. Nico knows that - it's in the way that Perseus treats Jason, just like he does Frank - pretending that the Pit never happened.

It's impossible to do this with Leo, who looks at his leg and his medical history and see far more than the others. Or Annabeth, Will, and Hazel, who he is closer to. Or Piper, who just seems to know everything. And Nico, who confronted him face to face.

Jason, however, only knows him one-sided - Perseus doesn't know him. They are friends, and before all this happened, they seemed to spend more and more time together. But they aren't close - the camaraderie didn't have enough time to develop into the trust.

That's why is so weird - he knows what the blonde is going through - the wish to be closer, to be able to at least help in any indirect way, but unable to gleam more about the situation. The information didn't come so easy in real life as it does in dreams.

They don't talk anymore, him and Jason. They just sit in silence or walk around their rounds in opposite directions. Eventually, the son of the sea god can't help it.

"How is he?"

Nico has the urge to answer "Wouldn't you like to know?", but that's petty and unnecessary. Jason isn't a bad person. It's just too easy to love Perseus sometimes.

"Better, I think. After the war, he'll be."

It's more for their sake than the truth. They try to talk again, stilted and trivial. Nico feels awkward - he misses their natural friendship. It won't stop because of a mutual crush - but they need to work for it.

So he settles for this trying. It's bad, and it's mostly both of them skirting around topics, their upbringings making it difficult - both have the emotional development of teaspoons. But they're trying, and it's okay.

Meanwhile, the girls are descending the Temple of Phobos, which is under a blazing hill. Hazel goes in front - manipulating the mist to stop the fire and looking for traps - and Piper and Annabeth follow the hike, talking quietly to fulfill the silence.

"What are you hoping to do, after this?"

"I don't know. Spend time with my dad. Fight for trans rights. Learn how to use more weapons. You?"

"I want to reshape the world - to build something. Maybe a city for the greeks. Maybe go into politics - Nova Roma looked directly out of my dreams."

"I do like politics - I'm more on the activist side, though."

"I was all for the Nobel Woman Initiative last year - there were two of my half-sisters there. You know, I did think it would be cool for schools to take this more seriously - I did my freshman year the same school as Percy, and like, barely any girls at the honor roll - even though most PA classes were brimming with them."

"I'm guessing traditional boarding school - I went to a lot of those, y'know. I was finishing my sophomore year before this mess, taking three AP classes. Stretched out like hell."

"I was taking five - because crazy over-achievers Perseus and Rachel took four, and I couldn't decide on the options. I was overworking for a while, but I did manage better than them - I think Rachel was high every time we visited her on the St. Claire's Academy, but maybe it was just the sheer amount of coffee and Redbull."

They keep on talking. It's the first time Annabeth talks to the daughter of Aphrodite and doesn't think she is an airhead. Piper is a conversationalist - exactly the type of friend she lacks, someone that can keep up with her streams of random thoughts.

Maybe they could have a girl's night with Rachel when they go back to camp. Maybe invite Hazel, and even Reyna too - Annabeth has never had one of those, stereotypical girly things. But maybe it could be cool.

It serves as a good distraction - the longer they stay on the temple, the worse it gets. Annabeth feels crawling in her skin and a sucking - a sucking that she remembers coming from the Pit, taking her in like if she was trash.

Hazel feels cold - her skin flickers. Some moments, she can't touch anymore. It's like being dead again - the rustle of the leaves in the trees of the Asphodel Fields ring in her ears as she walks through the marble halls.

For Piper, it's her nightmare vision all over again. It's like she never came out, never took the estrogen. There are mirrors everywhere she looks - there's no escaping the image that she hates the most - Piper, the boy.

It's not that "Piper, the boy" is ugly. He is just not her - that's not her body, that's not her face, that's not her. Her gender dysphoria is rising high in the back of her mind.

They keep going into the temple anyway - it's not easy to find the "chained god". They find instead Mimas - the giant supposed to kill Hephaestus, and, apparently, Ares - now that his stupid brother Damasen is dead.

Annabeth can't connect the dots yet, but the way the giant talks about Damasen helping an enemy - in the end, it all ties up to Perseus. What doesn't, these days? She is just so frustrated about the lack of information - and her new powers of extracting stuff won't work on a giant, she's pretty sure.

The titan is the opposite of Hephaestus - where the man is silent and intelligent, he is brute force and loud voices. He remembers them of Ares - Hazel even notices that he shares features with Mars Ultor.

To fight a god meant to fight intelligence, they must be emotional - Aphrodite would be excellent for this quest. But Hazel herself takes the lead - her magic is not mind-based - while Piper follows her routine of never being where is expected of her.

But none of the three are in their best shape - fear, the mental manipulation, drains more of them than the actual physical effort. Hazel is able to drive her broadsword across the god's shoulder - but the backlash of him shaking her off throws her towards the wall.

Annabeth - the strongest of the two remainings, physically at least - hoist the younger girl over her shoulders and starts to run. Around here, there's a faint grey-ish light - her mother's blessing shining through her skin.

He nearly strikes the vulnerable Annabeth with her extra weight, managing to hit her in the thigh. Piper, however, is quicker - love always is - and stabs him in the calf.

"You think that would hurt me? Silly little thing, just like your mother - I fought against two gods in the last war - you are nothing, little gallus puella!"

Piper doesn't get Latin, but she knows enough to think that's a trans-related insult. This is not her first rodeo - not even in her old boy's body - but it stills fill her with rage she cannot name.

"You should be more worried about how the makhai will castrate you, instead of caring about what's inside my shorts!"

The giant laughs - but there are doubts in his voice. The makhai hasn't been seen in centuries - but it all connects. It's not Ares or his children - it's the spirits of war that the Spartans thought to be pieces of Ares himself.

Piper takes advantage of his distraction and charges at him with her blade, causing the giant to stumble backward into a wall and destabilize the temple.

"You're worst than that godling that was manipulating my weak, useless brothers - that one lost a leg. I wonder how many limbs I can chop off you before offering you to Mother Gaea."

That is enough to incite Annabeth's rage. She puts Hazel carefully on the floor and attacks He barely managed to deflect her attack, and as he reaches out to grab the prone girl in the ground, Piper slices off Mimas' arm and hair off.

While Piper is keeping Mimas occupied, Annabeth released the makhai from the statue of Ares. The makhai follow the girls - they couldn't forget the smell of Aphrodite Areia and Pallas Athena, not even in a thousand years. They swarm Mimas, and as he staggers off-balance, both of them deliver the final blow by stabbing the giant in his gut.

Mimas topples face-first into the nearest doorway and disintegrated into ash when the stone face of Phobos falls onto him.

The god appears only to deliver the final blow, but doesn't help at all. He just laughs at their predicament and leaves them to find their way off this maze of terrors.

It trembles over them. Hazel is still unconscious - there's a trickle of blood running through the side of her face. Something is slowing down Annabeth - she shivers every time they take a step. So it comes to Piper to try and guide them through the falling building.

She is still a boy - and she hates it - but maybe it's just an illusion, and when they get out of here, she'll get her two-year estrogen body back.

Piper guides them out, with the makhai in tow. It doesn't feel like a victory - not when, even though she crossed the border of the hill, she keeps her boy's body.

Climbing back on the ship, she hides herself in her room. She - he, because that's a he body, and a he person, and she is not a he but when she looks in the mirror, he looks back.

Piper works herself into a panic attack alone in her room - and it's actually Annabeth that comes to check on her.

"Tell me five things you can see, Piper"

Annabeth's golden tresses. A blue sweater that is probably Percy's and got mixed in the laundry. One of Leo's screws that are everywhere he goes. A crown of flowers Katie Bell did for her. Malcolm's favorite book sitting at her nightstand.

"Good. Four things you can touch."

A calloused hand beneath hers. The soft jeans Annabeth is using. The cold hardwood floors. The wall against her back.

"You're doing amazing. Now three things you can hear."

The ship's engine rumbling beneath them. Annabeth's voice. Nico's brooding rock music coming from his room.

"Almost done. Two things you can smell."

Annabeth's lavender cologne mixed with the grime and sweat of their taxing day. The salty smell of the ocean.

"One thing you can taste."

Her mouth on Annabeth's. It's Piper who starts it - she is just so overwhelmed by Annabeth's everything, still worked up about the anxiety attack she just had, and they are so close.

The daughter of Athena is surprised and pushes back - she sits side by side with Piper, holding her wrist so she can't flee.

"Piper, I... I didn't mean to pass the... wrong... signs. I don't like girls. And boy body or not, you're still a girl."

It's the best and the worst let down of Piper's life. She nods - she is the daughter of Aphrodite. She should've known better. Annabeth is in love with Perseus - for years now.

"We can still be friends, right?"

Piper nods - Annabeth thinks it's ironic. It's the same interaction she had with Perseus - and she knows that, deep down, being friends is not enough, how much this rejection is just as bad as any other.

But she wants to keep Piper in her life. Is unfair - but there's something guiltily pleasurable about having someone that likes you, to know that you're not undesirable.

It's selfish, but Annabeth never claimed to be altruistic.

Up in the deck, Frank and Jason are receiving news of Reyna. She says she and Malcolm were attacked by Lycaon and his pack - and that Malcolm had a vision about Orion, the giant meant to oppose the twin gods, heading towards the Hunters and the Amazons.

With Apollo and Artemis missing, it comes to them to help. Jason thinks they could try and help if they cross paths, but that they should inform them by IM and go on their way - they have little time to dawdle, even if they're using Malcolm's mother transport company to carry the giant statue.

They are able to rest for the remainder of the day - it's more or less eighteen hours before Reyna sends the next message - they met the hunters and the Amazon in the Lisbon's Harbor and fought Orion, but no god came to give him the final blow.

So Reyna and Hylla had to run - the statue was already shipped off to America, and nymphs were helping them to get to the Long Island Bay within the next two days. Malcolm wasn't so lucky.

Orion smashed Malcolm against a boulder, breaking his arm and a leg. As they fled, Malcolm told them to leave him behind - he would stall the giant for a little while.

With most Amazons and Hunters out of commission or dead, they had no other choice. The last thing Reyna saw was Orion raising Malcolm above his head, and the sickening crunch of it breaking against the sea rocks.

Will is the one on patrol - and the one who has to relay the news to Annabeth. He doesn't want to wake her, but it's her right to know - so he goes and wakes Perseus too, to help deliver the blow.

"Annie, I... We... We have bad news."

Annabeth screams - that was her big brother, almost her father. He taught her how to hold a shield and how to swim - he was her only family left on Camp.

It's unfair. That shouldn't be his battles anymore - he is twenty! She screams and she throws a statue of her mother - and that damned coin - into the wall. Then Annabeth sobs on Perseus' shirt.

"It's her fault Percy, all her fault if she didn't send us in this goose chase if she didn't choose Malcolm..."

Will solves to tell the others in the morning - it's late, and most of them had little to no sleep. He goes back on deck, but there's a storm brewing in the ocean - and it's not a natural one. It's some kind of deity - and that's not a good moment.

He goes to Perseus - he is still awake, asleep Annabeth with tear tracks in her cheeks and scrapped knuckles in his arms, and tells him about the situation - Will is not that good of a fighter.

"I'll deal with it. Stay with her. I'll be back shortly."

Will should be alarmed - with Perseus more recent behavior, the way he always hated the gods' trivial troubles, should he really be sending him upstairs, with an ax, a tiger, and a mad expression into his eyes? Maybe not, but he won't stop it. The deity chooses their own fate - even Will is done with their willful moods, compromising a much more important journey in their own name.

Let whoever it is burn - The son of Apollo covers the sleeping girl's ears softly. She doesn't need this kind of stress now.

The storm stops, but the screams in the deck don't - they are like music to his ears.

[elisaphoenix13]

A Full Party

Thanks to a donation, this has been made available to read!

Athena and Tibbs greeted them like anyone else that was considered a friend, they barely even paid any attention when they stepped off the elevator. Athena briefly flicked an ear in their direction before returning her attention to the rare belly rub she let herself enjoy that Bucky was giving her, and Tibbs rubbed up against their legs before he dashed over to Peter when he shook the treat bag. But Flynn? His reaction was...interesting to say the least.

Everyone was relaxing and spending time with each other while Wanda and Cassie made dinner and snacks for their regular team bonding day (otherwise known as movie night), when the fox suddenly screeched. Quill was on his feet quicker than anyone could turn their heads, but when he saw who the kit was screaming at, he groaned and stomped over to pick him up by his scruff.

"Hey! Relax! Do you see Athena freaking out?" The god huffed and Flynn immediately fell quiet. Whether it was because he was safely in Quill's grasp or if he understood him was a mystery though. "They're friends!"

Shuri bent over cackling and T'Challa merely shook his head as Flynn squirmed in Quill's grasp to try and get to his shoulders. The celestial held him up and let the fox curl around his shoulders, and Flynn sniffed the fingers that Shuri offered after she was done laughing. She pet his head a few times before he playfully snapped at her and she took her hand back.

"I swear he's not racist." Quill said. "He doesn't do that shit with Sam or Rhodey."

"They're new to him. He hasn't seen them before." Stephen said as he approached them. "I'm glad you could find some time to get away." He said to T'Challa.

The king smiles. "We needed a break and we wanted to visit."

"You came at the perfect moment. We're having our monthly movie night. How long are you staying?" Stephen asked as Quill stepped away.

"A week if that's alright." T'Challa said.

"No can do kitty-cat." Tony says from the couch. "There's no room. You'll have to sleep in the dumpster outside."

Stephen rolls his eyes. "Don't listen to him. There's plenty of room. You can stay on Sam's floor."

"Thank you."

T'Challa and Shuri step out further into the floor to socialize, the king going over to Steve and Bucky, and Shuri of course joining the teens. She did eventually end up with Diana and Valerie a little while later and both girls were enraptured by stories of her brother's good deeds. It was nice to see the baby warm up to her so quickly since they rarely saw the royal pair. But it also rubbed Stephen the wrong way because that meant she was becoming less attached to him. At least in his mind she was. If he asked anyone else, Valerie was just as attached to him as she usually was. She was the baby that he could have every single day and wasn't expected to change back to normal within 24 hours or completely miss out on. He enjoyed when the boys and Cassie had been changed but they weren't actual babies. Valerie was, and she was growing up too fast. Sometimes it felt like he had been snapped again because it seemed like just yesterday that he brought her into the world.

He missed her tiny hands and feet, the way she curled against him, and even missed the times she would fall asleep on his shoulder and drool all over it. It was amazing how much he had changed. The old him before the accident would have scoffed at the idea of having kids. Now, he actually thought of the accident as a blessing in disguise. It humbled him. Gave him the opportunity to meet Tony, to have this huge family instead of being alone for possibly the rest of his life.

Stephen really did want another one. He could have ten and Tony would barely blink. He'd just look at however many kids Stephen brought home (whether adopted or magical) and put aside some money for college for every single one of them. He already did that for the twins. Everyone joked about Stephen bringing home the next kid, but sometimes he thinks they forgot who brought home the first two.

Peter and Harley were Tony's first. Stephen just swooped in and took over. Peter very easily cracked the ice around his heart, Harley stuck a chisel in it, and Diana dealt the finishing blow and smashed the ice to smithereens when he accidentally brought her into the world. Stephen's heart was now soft and mushy, and grew with each kid.

He was the fucking Grinch of kids.

"Honey, why do you look like you ate something sour?" Tony asked and Stephen looked at him.

"I…" he blushed. "No reason. Just thinking to myself."

There was another screech from Flynn and an irritated "why are you like this?!" from Quill and Stephen looked over to find Carol on the balcony. Considering she didn't use the elevator, she probably flew here and might have spooked the fox, so he didn't really blame Flynn this time. Tibbs happily trotted over to the woman and rubbed up against her leg before looking around her.

Carol laughed as she crouched down to scratch behind his ears, "sorry fuzzball. No Goose this time."

Tibbs actually sounded like he meowed in disappointment, but he enjoyed the scratches and followed her back inside.

Carol smirked as Stephen approached her. "Have any popcorn?"

"It's for movie night!" Cassie called from the kitchen and Carol raised an eyebrow. "Dinner's almost ready!"

"Guess I'll go get cozy." She said as she scooped up Tibbs in one of her arms and sauntered over to the couch.

Peter seemed to give up on the cat once Carol arrived, knowing Tibbs would spend as much time as possible with her since he rarely saw her. She was in the top three of the cat's favorite humans, Peter and Tony being the other two. Quill finally found himself on the couch again with Flynn contently curled up on his lap and both T'Challa and Carol looked at them.

"Even I know the fox is new," Carol said. "What was with the screaming?"

"Stephen thinks it's because you're new to him. I think it's just because he's a brat." Quill huffed. "The universe decided that I needed the neediest fucking animal alive."

"He can't be that bad." T'Challa said and Scott snorted from his spot on the ground where he was playing cards on the coffee table with Sam and Clint.

"He's that bad. He cries if Quill goes anywhere without him. Hey! I saw that!" Scott said to Clint who had tried to slip a card away for later.

Things got a little too busy for Valerie so she joined Stephen on the couch when he finally sat down. Athena did too once Bucky finished giving her obnoxious belly rubs, and dinner ended up having to be brought to the sorcerer and Valerie when it was ready. Thankfully, Vision was kind enough to do just that and they both thanked him. Tony managed to find his way next to Stephen with his own dinner, and when everyone was settled with a plate, a family friendly movie was started. If only for the sake of the younger children. Once they went to bed, the older kids would go watch another movie in one of their bedrooms, and the adults would drink.

Stephen really needed a night to let loose. It had been a while.

So when the younger kids went to bed and the older kids squirreled away into one of the bedrooms with endless snacks, Stephen didn't even bother replacing them like he usually did. Tonight was a freebie. He was going to drink and he would let his kids get sugar high and consume a concerning amount of other junk food. They knew the adults were going to be drinking, so they knew leaving the bedroom would be at their own risk. It was a good thing William knew how to make portals and teleport.

"Mom, I swear if that's a bottle of wine I see, I'm going to stage an intervention." Clint said with a groan.

Stephen raises a brow as he opens the bottle in the kitchen, then rejoins everyone. "This is mine. I don't know what you're all going to drink." He said with a smug smirk.

"Oh, wow. Who's being a bad influence on him?" Carol asked.

Everyone looked at Thor who looked back with a little offense.

"Why are you all looking at me?" The Asgardian asked.

"Thor had nothing to do with it." Stephen said after draining a fourth of the bottle. Tony had watched in amazement with a hint of concern. "I just need this. I parent...I don't even know anymore." He mumbled.

Sam cackled after he came from the bar with bottles of hard liquor and every single shot glass Tony owned. "I'll drink to that. We children are pretty wound up from missions."

Everyone else laughed and started off with a shot before deciding on a drinking game. Stephen took his time on the rest of his bottle of wine while everyone else decided on a game of Never Have I Ever. Steve, Bucky, Thor, Carol, and Quill drank Thor's Asgardian stuff to even the odds, but even then, everyone was pretty shit-faced pretty quickly. They all knew a concerning amount about each other's sex life or whatever else they were drinking to, except Scott and Quill's sex life wasn't a surprise. Shame wasn't in their vocabulary.

Stephen finally polished off his bottle and joined the game just as Laura said, "Never have I ever done it while a child was in the room."

Stephen and Tony each took a drink and everyone stared at them. The sorcerer simply chuckled and shrugged.

"Valerie was asleep."

Bucky was the one to burst into laughter. "Even I didn't think you'd go that far!"

"I take it where I can get it." Stephen said. "Whose turn is it?"

"T'Challa's." Scott hiccupped.

"Never have I ever been thrown out of a bar or club." The king said.

No one was surprised when Quill took a drink.

"It's not what you think!" He exclaims after swallowing the ale. "It was during a fire. One of my buddies actually threw me out the window...it was before they knew about my powers."

"He probably always wanted to do it." Sam laughed and Quill shrugged.

"Probably."

"Alright," Natasha said to get everybody's attention. "Never have I ever sent a sext to the wrong person."

Every single person took a drink. The ones with kids blushed bright red...and Quill even grabbed the bottle of ale while mumbling something like, "Cass and my work buddies probably need therapy."

Stephen coughed at the god's words and his eyes water from the burning in his nose. "Please don't tell me you sent your daughter an unsolicited dick pic."

Quill groaned. "I did. Thankfully we were both home so I was able to keep her from seeing it. I never got out of bed so fast."

"I should put filters on the kids phones." Tony mumbled. "Or add their personal AI's or Friday to them. Friday, make a note of that."

"Yes, Boss." The AI said.

The game went on for another couple of hours until everyone passed out where they had been sitting. It was weird seeing the king of Wakanda passed out on the couch from drinking, but Tony figured the weird level of that was very low on the list of what he'd seen. He hadn't drank nearly as much as his friends and decided to go out on the balcony and sit in a chair with a cigar. It was something he rarely indulged in, but it was the perfect time to do it. The kids were all asleep and the smoke wouldn't bother anyone, but halfway through it, Stephen had gracefully stumbled out onto the balcony and landed in his lap.

Tony chuckled. "Hi honey. Thought you were dead to the world."

"You left." Stephen mumbled. "Are you smoking?"

"A cigar. A rare treat." Tony admitted.

"Hmm...I like the smell on you." Stephen hummed pleasantly.

"When you're not in danger of puking, I'll make it up to you."

"That's too bad." Stephen whispered. "I thought maybe we could do it right here."

"Tempting...but we do have thirty something kids." Tony laughed.

"I want another one." Stephen slurred as he dozed off on Tony's shoulder and the mechanic rubs his shoulder with his free hand.

"I know. Soon." He promised to his sleeping spouse.

He liked having Stephen in his lap like this. Maybe next time his wife would be sober and they could enjoy the stars from next to the fire at the lake house. He would indulge in a cigar again, have the man cuddled up to him in his lap just like this...and they would look up at the stars. Better yet, it would even be relaxing for Tony. No triggers from looking up into the vast expanse of space, just pure enjoyment.

"We'll have as many as you want." He whispered before placing a soft kiss to Stephen's brow.

[danetobelieve]

A Couple’s Home Is Their Castle || Rio and Winston

When: 24/08/2020 Who: @3starsquinn & @danetobelieve Where: Rio and Winston’s home. Summary: Winston and Rio keep working on the defenses that they’re slowly building up around their house.  Warnings: n/a

Winston looked at the large spotlights that they had just finished attaching to the roof of their home. Ricky was down in his workshop grafting away at a new set of fastenings for the next set of defenses that they were affixing to their house which left Rio and Winston the job of actually installing the stuff to the house. A job that was more difficult for normies. But when you could use magic and your boyfriend had a serious degree of supernatural strength then everything was honestly a little bit easier. As Rio held the large frame of the bank of UV spotlights in place, Winston finished fastening it to the roof, made sure that it was secure and then gave it a slight rattle to see if it was done. “You know, I don’t think i could move this even if it was going to fall off,” Winston admitted, “do you wanna test it?” The bank of spotlights was something that they had been working on for a while. The idea was that they were basically security lights. Except they would shine out UV light (they were technomagically enchanted with a variety of runes and high powered LED bulbs). In theory they would stop vampires from getting too close to their home. In theory. The truth was Winston wouldn’t know until they tried it out. Which they hoped they’d never have to do. But better safe then sorry, especially when Miriam might be involved. 

Orion liked watching Winston work. Considering all of the other thoughts that were constantly running through his head, this was a more than welcome distraction. And considering the whole love potion fiasco, Rio considered himself lucky that Winston was being as cool about it as they were. Even if it wasn’t Rio’s fault and Winston had insisted that the two forgot it ever happened. Rio’s body was still sore from the spawns, but he happily stood out and held the light into place as Winston worked on it. After it was completely fastened, Rio switched just group and began pulling at it, feeding only a small bit of his hunter strength into the motion. He didn’t want to accidentally rip it free, though he wasn’t sure he was necessarily in the best shape to do that anyways. Afterwards, Rio scratched at the wounds of his arms over his sleeves and winced at the pain. “This is incredible. It’s too bad we don’t know any vampires to test this with. I mean, not that I’d want to burn them or anything.” He studied the mechanism and glanced back and forth between it and Winston. God, they were so cool. “What can we do next? Please don’t make me go back into my room again. There’s only so many video games I can play.” 

Somehow the sweetest and kindest person who had ever existed had managed to get themselves hurt again. Winston had all but forgotten everything to do with the love potion, although it had been tough to accept, Winston had worked through it and they’d been able to put the whole thing behind them. That was the way it had to be. Rio had hardly been consenting and Winston hadn’t admitted it yet but they really cared deeply about Rio, maybe to the point of loving him. But this was their first relationship and they didn’t want to knee jerk anything until they were completely sure. “You really think?” Winston asked curiously, “Honestly, you remember when we had that month of perpetual night and there was a shit load of vampires out there just snapping at everyone’s heels all the time, well that was when me and Ricky decided that it was time to start taking the safety of this place a lot more seriously.” With their developments in technomancy, well automating everything was only easier. “Oh, I know we’ve installed everything up here but don’t get excited about being with it yet.” Winston couldn’t help but tease Rio, he looked so cute when he was teased. “I still need to hook this up to our AI in the house so that we can literally go like defenses on or whatever and the house will become a safe zone, or as safe a zone as you can have in White Crest.” 

“Of course I do! You’re like a tech genius. Anything you do is incredible.” Orion shrugged, as if this was the most natural thing to say in the world. Rio remembered back when they had first met. Rio had troubles giving anyone an abundance of compliments, afraid he was going to come across as weird or desperate. Now, Rio practically told anyone that he could about how great Winston was. It was a welcome change, one of many positive changes that Rio had begun noticing after moving in with Winston and Ricky. “Yeah I remember. It didn’t make doing things at the Scribrary easy. I mean, for people without night vision I mean. Well, I’m glad this place will be safe.” Luckily, Rio didn’t have much of an issue seeing at night. But it had certainly been creepy. He wished there were defenses against hunters they could do. “Oh. Great. So we’re staying on the roof then?” Rio crosses his arms and poured, “Guess it’s good I’m not scared of heights or anything.” He laughed sarcastically and readjusted his hold on the machine, holding onto it in case he slipped. “But that sounds super cool. So do your thing.” Rio couldn’t offer much in terms of technology and was here based solely on his muscle, by some weird sense of irony. But he supposed he could offer some suggestions. “You know, and I hate even suggesting this, but my family replaced all the doorknobs on the house with silver and pure iron.” He made a face at the idea of following something his family did, but depending on the threat, maybe it wasn’t the worst idea. “Not silver, obviously. We know too many werewolves. But maybe we can do something with the iron?”

“You’ve tasted my cooking right?” Winston replied with a chuckle, “Because not even your sweet sweet lips,” Winston winked in the most exaggerated way they possibly could to show that they were joking, “cannot convince me that my cooking is incredible.” The scribrary was going to be a perpetual work in progress for Winston, they weren’t sure if they would ever complete everything that they wanted to do with it, but the fact that they didn’t have to carry a flashlight with them at all times was refreshing enough. “We got all the lights fixed though,” Winston replied with a smirk, “so we’re definitely making progress.” Looking around, Winston shook their head. “Don’t worry, we won’t be up here for too much longer, we’ve just got to thread the wires down through the roof and then Ricky has said it’s cool if we set everything up for the connection in his room, he’s going to be in his workshop for a few more hours anyway so if we’re quick we shouldn’t even take up too much time or space.” Winston quickly and expertly began threading thick spools of wires through the hole in the roof. “Can you just like slowly give me slack on the wire until we’ve got it all through, and then we’ll go in through Ricky’s skylight because I’m way too lazy to climb all the way down and go in through the front door.” Heights bothered Winston too, they didn’t want to be up here any longer then they had to be. But it was easier to not seem bothered by stuff when Rio was around. He made it easier to be confident. “Uh, well we’ve got some fairly crude salt traps for ghosts, we could definitely include like iron and silver traps too, but I’d rather not have them in the doorknobs, it makes it difficult to bring anyone who’s fae or like you said a werewolf over without warning them not to touch the doors.”

Orion considered Winston’s statement. Sure, Winston’s cooking still probably beat Rio’s own. More due to the fact that Rio never actually tried to cook. The little that he knew he knew from cooking with Ricky. Who frequently took over jobs when Rio proved hopeless. “Not everyone can cook like Ricky.” Rio stayed neutrally, blushing at the comment about his lips and scratching nervously at his neck. Okay, so not all the butterflies were gone. But could Rio be blamed when Winston said stuff like that? “The Scribrary has come farther than I ever thought it would. So even if we never do anything else to it I’m going to count it as a win.” Of course, neither of them had any intentions of stopping their progress. The Scribe HQ was really important to Rio. Outside of being filled top to bottom with knowledge and a source of escape from Rio’s old life, the Scribe building attributed to how close Rio and Winston were now. If they hadn’t run into each other that night or started working on the place together, who knew if they would be as close as they were now. Rio would probably still be awkwardly crushing on them in secret. “You got it, boss.” Rio gave Winston a thumbs up and then moved over to hold onto the wire to help out. He loved the skylight idea, mostly so he didn’t have to stare at the ground and try to get down. “I completely agree. The last thing I’d want is for someone like Ariana to burn her hand try to come visit us. I want this place to be safe against threats. So I also want it to be safe for any of our friends that aren’t human.” It was strange, acknowledging that some people weren’t human. For as long as Rio could remember, he had considered everyone human. Undead, werewolf, Fae. But he remembered his conversation with Morgan and the one with Athena about Ariana. Not everyone wanted to be referred to as human. He was still getting used to that. 

“Honestly, for someone who only eats meat or fish, I find it almost a little bit disconcerting that he is so good at cooking things that he can’t eat without getting sick. It’s like some kind of unfair super power.” Winston was honestly still glad that they were living with both Rio and Ricky. The two of them made their life so much easier then they had previously imagined that it could be. Grinning gently at Rio, Winston nodded. “I know we’ve still got tonnes of work to do, but with every step we make and everything that we do to make things like a bit more accessible it all seems a bit easier you know.” Winston shrugged to themself and Rio before continuing. “I was actually thinking that we should back up both of the databases, cause I know we back up the Scribrary here and vice versa but it’s probably not a bad idea to back both of them up just in case there is a truly cataclysmic event or something that could damage both locations, which although it sounds unlikely when it comes to White Crest I guess that you can’t be sure.” Laughing at Rio once more, Winston finished threading the wires through the hole in the roof before turning to Rio and pulling open the skylight. “After you dude, and yeah, exactly. I would ideally like to be able to turn everything on or off so that depending on who comes here we can make sure that nothing we have in the house hurts them. Just because someone is fae or something doesn’t mean they’re definitely bad but I also think it’s a good idea to have different things in place that can work with both, I don’t know, it’s just an idea and obviously all the houses defenses are still a work in progress. I’ve not got the autoturret prototypes anywhere near working yet, they don’t aim for shit and the firing mechanism doesn’t work properly either but we’re starting to really make progress on everything else.” 

“Right? He has an unfair advantage.” Not to mention his human body was sculpted like some sort of Greek god. It had made talking to him very hard that first night the two had met. The infatuation didn’t last very long though, just until the two actually became close friends. It had been a common trait with most of Orion’s crushes. That star-eyed butterfly feeling mostly disappeared after getting to know them. Winston has been the exact opposite, that feeling only getting stronger and stronger the more time they spent together. “It’s a good idea. I was thinking it wouldn’t be bad to find someone else to keep hold of the information. Y’know, someone trustworthy obviously. If we start building this like we want to, we’re going to need to add in some more people eventually.” It was something Rio had thought about a lot recently. He had ideas of people he could ask, but he wanted to be really careful not to just pull in friends or people he liked. He needed to be smart about this. He wasn’t trying to create some fraternity or book club. He wanted to make a difference. “I’m not trying to hurt anyone. Just keep us safe.” Rio was slowly starting to realize that sometimes the two had to go hand in hand. It wasn’t a fun realization. Lots of existential crisis involved in that inner monologue. With the skylight open, Rio climbed down into it and then jumped, hitting the floor of Ricky’s room and rolling. It wasn’t graceful by any means, but Rio wasn’t injured. “I can’t believe we’re actually casually talking about turrets right now. With anyone else, that would scare me.”

“He’s also just a competent adult which isn’t something that I feel like I’ve ever been able to achieve,” Winston replied with a laugh. Winston raised an eyebrow and bit their lip. “Well there are options, someone like Nell or Bea or Luce could work but I don’t know if they’re impartial enough with their coven involvement, there’s also someone like Leah who’s already got her own library of information and I think that she would understand just the sort of discretion that this needed,” Winston honestly wasn’t sure if they were really the right person to be deciding who  should or shouldn’t be involved in all of this, they were still so new to everything that they didn’t think that they could be impartial. “I just worry that if I have to pick someone then the obvious temptation is going to be to just pick my friends and you know that isn’t exactly a good idea.” Biting their lip, Winston slipped into through the skylight after Rio, landing far less gracefully and not managing to roll at all. “You make that look so easy, but yeah I get you. I just know that there’s a bunch of people that have either threatened me or would threaten me with death if they knew the actual truth about me -- also known as a witch hunter -- and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a relative safe haven in which we could offer people in need a place to go should everything go terribly terribly wrong.” 

“Y’know? Valid. I wish I was half as competent as he was at adulting. I only got book smarts.” Orion laughed, though it hadn’t entirely been a joke. He often felt like the only thing he could actually contribute was an uncommon amount of storage he kept in his memory for historical facts. He was starting to learn that maybe he could bring more to the table. Just like many had told him, maybe this strength of his wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Leah? I know her name. Nell is supposed to introduce us.” A library? That was certainly interesting and something Rio would have to remember when they met. “I know what you mean. My first thought was Blanche. And I think she’d be great but I didn’t know if I only thought it because she was my best friend. Maybe we should make a pros and cons list!” It was one of his nerdier ideas, only made nerdier by the fact that it genuinely excited him. Winston followed after Rio, dropping onto the floor and wobbling against it. “You okay? I have uh- lots of practice falling from things. You didn’t hurt your legs did you?” He studied Winston’s legs for a minute before swiftly averting his eyes and trying to focus on what they were saying. “No. Yeah. Totally. I agree, safe haven is good.” Rio had heard about the witch hunter. He didn’t like the knowledge before, but now knowing about Winston and Nell and others he really didn’t like it. He crossed his arms and his sleeves rubbed against the wounds, a pain shooting through them. Rio was ready to ignore it before he realized that he didn’t have to wear it at all. “Hey uh- this is probably a dumb question, but…” Rio paused, not sure how to ask without sounding weird. Why did he feel so awkward about taking his hoodie off? Probably because he had never gone without it around anyone that wasn’t his family. “Do you mind if I take this thing off? It’s hurting my arms.” He had pulled his arm through the first sleeve but didn’t want to do anything without Winston’s approval. He had the short sleeved shirt under his hoodie, but his arms weren’t always easy to look at.

“Everyone has different abilities and different skills, unfortunately I think that Ricky got all of the practical and useful skills and the two of us got all the useless ones that are only good at Trivia nights.” Winston grinned. Spending anytime with Rio was always a pleasure but he was so similar to Winston in so many ways that sometimes it was night just to spend time with someone who had such similar views to them. “Leah is cool, she was one of Bea’s friends when they were younger and so I kind of know her through Nell and Bea, but she’s really cool and really nice and really really helpful. When I was struggling after Bea’s resurrection she was the one who really helped me work out how I could get rid of all that excess energy.” Chewing their lip, Winston nodded. “I think that Blanche would probably do great at it, but the truth is that she’s also my friend so I don’t know for sure if I can objectively say that, I guess my only concern is that she has lots of people constantly coming to her for help all the time when they probably shouldn’t and I don’t want to give her more tools to make things worse for herself and put more pressure on herself. I think that the scribrary is also a tool and not one that should be used lightly.” Dusting themselves off, Winston stretched a little as they got to their feet. “Nah, I’m okay, just not nearly as graceful as you.” Winston didn’t really realise what Rio had meant at first and frowned a little as they looked at them confused. It took them a minute to work out exactly what Rio was asking. “Oh, please of course, you don’t have to check with me if you don’t want to be wearing that sort of thing.” Winston quickly crossed the room and pressed a kiss to Orion’s lips. “I don’t care and it’s none of my business what you wear, you always look cute with or without the long sleeves and if you’re comfortable then so am I.” 

“At least together we’re always going to win first prize?” Orion questioned, shrugging and hoping to find the silver lining in it, but he was giggling the whole time. Clearly, Rio and Winston had found a way to put their talents to use. Even if Rio’s only real contribution was an impressive memory for weird historical facts. The Scribrary was the perfect place to hone that talent. Rio nodded along as Winston explained Leah’s connections to the Vural’s and Blanche’s connection to… well everything. Rio was certainly intrigued by Leah, the girl who Nell said could help him learn more about Phoenix’s. From the sounds of it, she had more knowledge than just that. As for Blanche, Rio didn’t want to overwhelm her. And he didn’t want to ruin his only chance to get things with the Scribes kicked off again. He was positive she would make a good addition, but he didn’t want to rush anything. Not yet. “Good points. We will think on it more. We don’t have to rush anything. Especially since right now we don’t even really know what we’re doing.” That was the truth, at least for Rio. He knew they were going to continue archiving the Scribe information, but he still needed to figure out exactly what he wanted to do with it. All he knew was that he wanted to help people. They needed to figure out the how. But for now- Did Winston just say that Rio was graceful. He started snickering to himself, “Wow. I didn’t think anyone would ever call me graceful. That’s really sad for you.” With Winston’s approval, and a bonus kiss, Rio pulled the rest of the hoodie over his head and tied it around his waist. The sudden exposure in front of someone still felt incredibly weird. Weirdly enough, Rio didn’t even feel that awkward in the short sleeves around Winston. Rio supposed it was a testament to how much he cared about and felt comfortable around them. “Thanks. Seriously uh- I’ve never really walked around with a hoodie on so… it’s weird. But not with you. It’s just- god it’s so much less hot without that thing on.” He sighed into a laugh and gave a quick thumbs up to Winston, his way of thanking them for offering their support to Rio, “Okay, let’s get back to work.”

“I certainly hope that we’d always win first prize.” Winston had only ever been able to rely on their intellect in life. The rest of them hadn’t been exceptional in anyway, but being smart and having magic were really starting to get them places. “Plus with the amount of time you’re in college and the amount of time that I’m working, and the amount of time that we both seem to spend getting caught up in supernatural messes, well it is all something that is a bit much too plan to actively restart the Scribe chapter straight away, we definitely need other people to help and we could probably do with more resources then the two of us have at our disposal.” In that moment Winston wished that they had more money. Sometimes it felt like money fixed everything. Especially when it came to starting a supernatural organisation dedicated to recording supernatural phenomena. Laughing with Rio, Winston shrugged. “Sometimes I guess you have to just accept that your shortcomings are your shortcomings and move on with your life, grace isn’t something that I’ve ever possessed in any real quantity.” Pleased that Rio didn’t feel the need to keep from taking off the hoodie, Winston returned to their work, carefully and neatly winding the wires through the rafters with magic before taking them in their hands and continuing the work when they were at a level that Winston could actually reach. “Rio, you don’t need to say thank you for not wearing a hoodie, if you feel comfortable enough doing it then you know you’re totally fine doing it right, I don’t care as long as you don’t care y’know. It’s like, the people that matter don’t mind and the people that mind don’t matter.” 

What Winston said made a lot of sense. The two would need more help, and they would need people that specialized in things that the two of them didn’t. Orion tapped his finger against his chin as he considered all of this. “I’ll start putting together a list. Try to figure out exactly what we are going to need and who may be able to help us, but-” Rio knew the thing that they were really lacking. Funding. “Well, I know we said we don’t want to pull in friends, but what we don’t have is money. Right now anyone that could offer to help us would be more volunteering their time like we are.” He shrugged it off, realizing that wasting time stressing over it now was useless when Rio was here to try to help Winston arm the house. “But that doesn’t matter right now. I’m going to start a list of what we need and then we will start thinking about it.” Rio settled in with Winston, what they were working on now wasn’t something that Rio could provide much help in, but he enjoyed watching them work regardless. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I get what you’re saying but all I’m hearing is ‘I’m Winston and I’m adorable and amazing and support my boyfriend no matter what’” He put on his best Winston impersonation but giggled the entire sentence through. Not that Winston would accept the thanks, because that was the amazing kind of person they were, but Rio couldn’t find a way to describe his gratitude that Winston didn’t act bothered by his appearance. It was only because of them that Rio felt comfortable right now. “So what are you doing right now? With the wiring?” 

“Definitely, I can do the same thing and maybe once we’ve actually got some more time to look into this we can compare our notes and see what the other was able to come up with.” Winston knew that money was going to be an issue for a little while and they weren’t sure how they were going to solve that specific issue, but for now it was an issue that wasn’t pressing or urgent and it was certainly one that Winston could live with. “We can work all of this out soon, ideally we would be able to find some sort of donor or someone who could fund this for us but this isn’t like a university grant system and they were already hard enough to get in the first place.” Winston quirked an eyebrow thoughtfully as they pressed on with their work. Letting out a slight chuckle, Winston shrugged at Rio and gave them a quick smile. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it, ignoring all the compliments which thanks for those by the way, but yeah, I will support you no matter what because what’s the point of going out with someone if you’re not going to be there for them all the way, all the time, no matter what.” They didn’t even need to ask Rio about whether they’d do the same for them because they knew without hesitation that they they would. Focussing on their work, Winston grinned. “So, we’ve got power cables because this is going to take up a lot of power,” Winston indicated a bunch of the cables, “then we’ve got these, I’ve installed solar panels on the back of the lights and those feed down into a generator and battery set up that I’ve got in the basement of the house so that our power bill isn’t monstrous when or if we ever have to use these things, plus we should all invest in renewable resources anyway if we can…” Winston pulled a final wire out of the bunch and wiggled it for Rio to see, “this is an ethernet cable, it connects everything up there to the internet and to our computer and AI system so that everything works on voice command, at least that’s the theory.” Making magical tech work was an entirely different story.

“Deal!” Orion agreed, happy that he had Winston here to work through this with. Everything seemed easier with Winston’s help and support. “It’s sort of crazy to say, but honestly I’m not even stressed about it. And I’m usually stressed about… well, everything.” That wasn’t even an exaggeration, “I think I owe that to you. I mean, I also owe it to Ricky and Blanche and Ariana and everyone else. But with the Scribes stuff, you keep me grounded.” As Winston explained what they were doing, Rio peaked from behind Winston and rested his chin on their shoulder. His hands were flat against the ground, supporting him on either side. He pressed a quick kiss against Winston’s cheek from behind and turned his attention back to wires that Winston was fiddling with. “Have I mentioned that I love watching you work?” Rio was trying to get more comfortable with banter like this. Being able to openly compliment and flirt with Winston because the two were dating. It was still an odd feeling. “But in all seriousness, I love the idea of it being voice command. As long as I can’t accidentally voice command it to activate the turrets or something. But this is like the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You know that we’ll get there in the end, just like with the scribrary and the house defenses, I think these things naturally take time.” Winston pursed their lips thoughtfully before bobbing their head in agreement with Rio. “Maybe it’s just a sign that you’re getting more and more mature then you already were and you’re getting better and better at handling all the stuff that the world throws at you, sure we’ve helped, but you were the one who has done all of the hard work. We’ll all obviously keep helping you, but you’re the one who’s doing the lifting you know, you can’t forget that. You shouldn’t either.” Winston gave them a reassuring smile. “But you know, you really keep me grounded too.” Running a hand over Rio’s cheek affectionately, Winston returned to their work as Rio watched, explaining everything that they did as they worked. “I’ve noticed that you love watching me work, I always just assumed that everyone thought it was boring, but I guess you not being bored by me is why we make such a good couple.” Winston returned the kiss before laughing. “I’ll make sure that the voice command to set off the turrets requires double verification or something so that you don’t have to worry about that, but considering that on some scale the house is going to be powered by a magic spell that I’ll be weaving as it goes, you’ve kind of got to bear in mind that once this all goes off it’ll feed off of my energy a bit, I know you won’t fuck around with it, but yeah, don’t fuck around with it … lol.” Winston was right back to being awkward. Great.

“Bleh. Ew. My one greatest weakness.” Orion feigned coughing and grabbed at his heart for dramatic effect. The joke was meant mostly to distract from the compliments and avoid having to agree with Winston that Rio had anything to do with his own growth and development since moving in with them. He’d rather give all the credit to his friends and the others that had helped him stand up to his family and leave. “But that’s good. I want you to be able to feel as comfortable as I’m able to feel around you.” Rio had that thought about it a lot recently, especially after the love potion. Once it began wearing off, it was so easy for Rio to say that he never loved Blanche. Because that wasn’t what love felt like. Rio was pretty sure he knew what love felt like now. It all seemed so obvious. “I don’t know how people couldn’t find this stuff fascinating. Technology is so rapidly evolving so watching someone work with it and learning how to wire things and-” Rio stopped himself, realizing that it actually did sound pretty boring just talking about it, “Y’know what? Now that I’m thinking about it I think it’s just you. I just like watching you specifically work.” Rio nodded and crossed his heart as a promise, but found himself smiling by how Winston’s voice trailed off awkwardly. Since the two had spent so much time together, the two didn’t sound nearly as awkward as they had when they first became friends or first started getting feels for each other. “Ooh. I can’t believe I’m the one not super awkward right now. It’s really cute.” Rio pokes at Winston’s cheek playfully, “No worries about me accidentally using the AI for evil. I don’t even like asking Siri to do too much for me.” 

Winston knew that Rio was not very good at giving themselves compliments and they also knew that they were worse at taking them, so they would just continue giving them compliments until it was so normalised for them that they had no other choice but to accept them. That was the plan. “Of course, I do, like, you wouldn’t believe how comfortable I feel around you, you … I guess I just trust you without any hesitation.” Raising an eyebrow, Winston secured cable ties and plugged things in, making sure that everything was neat and tidy as it did run up through Ricky’s roof. “I’m glad that you admitted that you’ve just got a bit of a thing for watching me work because honestly sometimes when I do the stuff you love to watch even I am bored, there are definitely things that you’ve obviously just got to get done you know, but I appreciate you keeping me company, it makes everything a bit better and less boring then before.” Laughing gently, Winston shrugged. “I can believe that i’m the super awkward one, I know you think I’m not as awkward as you, but social situations don’t always come easy to me, people are less easy then computers.” Probably because they didn’t just think in ones and zeroes. “I don’t worry about you accidentally using the AI for evil, I worry that someone will upset Ricky and he’ll set the autoturrets on them for not being polite or something.” Winston joked, they were pretty sure Ricky wouldn’t do that … right? 

Knowing how comfortable Winston was with Orion was probably the greatest compliment that Rio could receive, and certainly one that he was willing to accept. The trust between the two of them was something Rio had always wished he could have with someone but figured he never would. “Same to you. It’s good to have someone that I know I can come to with anything. And i’m glad you know that you can do the same with me.” Sure, not everything could be the most exciting thing on Earth. But one of the greatest things about the mutual comfort Rio held with Winston was that the two had the ability to work around each other and be completely comfortable and entertained. The two could probably just lie on the floor across from one another and Rio would be content. So maybe all of the actual work itself wasn’t the most riveting, but Rio loved watching the way Winston’s hands fiddled with the project. Or the way their nose scrunched as they processed something in their head and the switch in facial expression once they finally worked it out. Watching Winston’s break work through their passion was sort of incredible. “I’m here to hang out whenever you want company. And I can also dip whenever you need time to focus.” It wouldn’t hurt Rio’s feelings. “Yeah, you’re right. I mean, we can’t all be like Ricky. Or Nell. Or any of the other social butterflies. But I think you have a certain charm with people. Even if you don’t think you do.” A lot of people in town seemed to know them and like them, so Winston must have been doing something right. Rio chuckled at the thought of Ricky messing with the turrets, mostly because he knew that Winston was joking and probably wasn’t serious. At least mostly. “Yeah well, let’s just keep an ear out for that to be sure. Otherwise, I think you’ve got a really good start. I feel safer already.”

[wild-springflower]

First Impressions

I can’t get  past the theory of Buck’s dad being an abusive asshole. So, here’s a thing I wrote where the team find out firsthand! 

It’s a perfectly normal morning for the 118, nothing has gone catastrophically wrong yet and they are riding that shred of hope all the way through what is promising to be a good breakfast, if the smells wafting from the small kitchen area are anything to go by.

It had been a while since they’d gotten a chance to actually sit down and enjoy their meal, as they were being sent out on one call or another. Not that any of them would complain about their jobs, it just would be nice to enjoy non-microwaved food every once in a while.

Chim is in the middle of telling a story from his last call that both Eddie and Hen had missed, involving a guy who had dabbled, perhaps a little too much, in a less than legal substance, and had subsequently gotten his hand stuck in a toaster.

“So, we just walked onto the scene, and he starts screaming down at us to ‘hurry up!’ I mean, I thought he was dying based on how hysterical he was. And we get up there to find the guy had accidentally switched the toaster on while trying to get his hand out of it!”

Hen doubled over, not caring about laughing at some poor idiot who she knew was okay, because if he wasn’t Chim wouldn’t be telling the story. “Oh my god, no.”

Eddie shook his head, smiling and laughing as well, even Bobby gave a chuckle from his place in front of the stove. It had been a while since they’d all been like that, just siting and having a good time with one another. Except they were down one number.

Eddie’s thoughts had barely drifted to Buck when his phone buzzed, “Speak of the devil.” He said to himself, voice unheard over the uproar of laughter when Chim informed everyone that this moron forgot how toasters worked and didn’t know he could just unplug it to make it turn off.

Buck’s message was short, and to the point: Running late

Something about it didn’t sit quite right with Eddie, Buck was one for embellishing his texts with dorky emojis, or at least several punctuation marks too many.

“Well I guess it wasn’t that funny.” Chim commented, waving his hands in Eddie’s direction, “Yo, earth to Eddie.”

“He just got a text from his boyfriend, he’s a little preoccupied.” Hen heckled him.

“Buck’s not my boyfriend.” Eddie shot back immediately.

A devious smirk captured Hen’s lips, “Did I mention Buck? Chim I don’t remember saying Buck.”

“You most certainly did not say Buck.” Chim played along easily, smiling broadly at the expense of his teammate.

Eddie’s ears burned and he ducked his head in embarrassment but was thankfully saved by Bobby interjecting into the conversation before it could devolve any further.

“Where is Buck anyway?”

“Yeah, Buckaroo’s normally one of the first here.” Chim stated, looking around almost as if they had somehow just missed an entire member of their team.

Eddie shook his head, still looking at his phone, “He said he’s running late.”

Hen seemed to pick up on his unease because not a second later she was leaning towards him, all traces of her earlier jokes disappeared from her tone. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know, I’ve just got a weird feeling. I suppose we just wait and see when he shows up? We can always ask him if something’s going on.”

The others nodded, and as it turned out, they were not kept waiting long, as not ten minutes later a very tense looking Buck strode through the wide garage doors. He wasn’t alone however, a taller and older looking gentleman was following close behind, clearly agitated about something.

“You’ve been ignoring me for nearly a decade Evan you’ll have to grow up eventually.”

“I’m not-” Buck started, but quickly lowered his voice, “I’m not ignoring you. I just don’t have time right now; I have to work.”

Eddie stood from the couch and started slowly walking towards the stairs, he didn’t like the way his friend was acting, and the older man was setting off all sorts of alarm bells in the back of his mind.

“Oh, you have to work, do you? Big important firefighter that you are.” The man jeered, clearly amused.

The loud voice drew the rest of the team’s attention, and they all were glancing warily between each other and the scene unfolding before them.

Buck’s shoulders sagged, and he looked so exhausted it almost hurt. “Please, can we just not do this here?”

“Okay, then when Evan? When are you going to grow a pair and actually talk to me, because I’ve had enough of your constant excuses. So, when are we going to do this.” He shot Buck’s own words back at him like some sort of insult.

Eddie saw the annoyance turn to rage and a second later Buck was whirling to face the man, who Eddie had a sneaking suspicion was his father, the thought leaving a pit in his stomach.

Buck’s duffle fell from his shoulder and hit the ground with a dull thud, his arms spread wide, “I don’t know. Eventually! Okay? Just not right now! Sorry if the fact that I have a life is inconvenient to you!”

The man’s glare darkened, and the energy in the room turned almost electric. Then before anyone could really react, he had extended his arm in a devastating backhand that connected with a strong slap against Buck’s right cheek.

Buck seemed to just freeze, gasping slightly, watering eyes steadfastly refusing to move from the ground.

“Hey!” Eddie shouted, and not a moment later he was bounding down the steps, three more pairs of boots echoing behind him.

They weren’t there fast enough however, because by the time they got near their friend the older man already had the cuff of his shirt bunched up in a fist and was pulling Buck closer.

Buck’s breaths were coming in stuttering gasps, whole body shaking as he leaned as far away from the man as possible.

“You know better than to raise your voice at me.” He growled, voice low and threatening.

“Yes sir.” Buck whispered, the words seeming to fall off his tongue in a habitual monotone.

“Now what do you say?”

Buck swallowed thickly, still refusing to make eye contact, but when he didn’t respond immediately the man shook him by the collar and raised his hand again in a threatening gesture.

Eddie didn’t think it was physically possible for Buck to get any smaller, his voice a hoarse whisper, “Sorry sir.”

Eddie was on them a moment later, rage boiling in his stomach at the sight. No one, especially a father, had a right to make someone feel that way. “Let go.” He practically snarled.

“This is a discussion between myself and my insolent son. It doesn’t concern you.”

Eddie had opened his mouth to spit back fire at the man, but Bobby’s calming voice interrupted him first, “Actually it does. It concerned me the minute you stepped into my firehouse and physically abused one of my employees.” The way he said “my” sounded almost possessive, and Eddie was sure that wasn’t an accident.

“Now, let go of him before I have to get the police involved.”

Bless Bobby and his ever-present level head, if it had been up to Eddie alone, he would have socked the guy square in the jaw. He still wasn’t entirely sure that ship had sailed however, as the man had yet to release Buck and leave the station.

Several pairs of hands dove together with wonderful efficiency, Chim working to release the man’s grasp from Buck’s shirt as Hen tugged the shirt away and Bobby placed a warning grip on the man’s wrist.

They’d gotten Buck out of the man’s hold, but their friend seemed glued to the spot, vibrating terribly and blinking back tears.

Hen gripped his shoulders in her arms, gentle and reassuring, while Chim was rubbing his arm softly.

“You’re pathetic, you can’t even fight your battles on your own can you.” The man sneered, taking a threatening step forward and raising his fist.

Several things happened all at once. The moment Buck’s father moved Buck viscerally flinched, eyes squeezing shut in preparation of some sort of retribution. Chim’s grip on his arm tightened, and he was entirely ready to physically pull Buck out of there should the need arise. Hen stepped in front of him with a death glare, fully prepared to take a punch for her friend. But before she was in any danger of the fist connecting Eddie had intercepted the man’s arm and shoved it out of the way.

Bobby grabbed his phone from his pocket, Athena’s speed dial all queued up. “Chim, Hen, take Buck upstairs.” He commanded; voice strong but soft.

Buck’s feet shuffled with a gentle tug from his friends but one shout from his father had him clamming up again. “Evan Xavier Buckley, I did not give you permission to leave.”

“He’s not in your house, he’s in mine. And I give the orders around here.” Bobby said, “Chim, Hen, get Buck upstairs.”

“Come on buddy.” Chim whispered at the same time Hen softly cooed, “We’ve got you Buckaroo.” Their strong arms wrapped around his trembling form the entire way.

Eddie still stood, hands clenched in fists by his sides, and glaring icy daggers at the man. If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead ages ago.

“How dare you.” He hissed, rage turning to Bobby.

“How dare him?” Eddie scoffed, “How dare you!”

“Listen you petulant child, I don’t have the time or the patience for you.”

“So, what are you gonna do? Gonna hit me too?” Eddie mocked, stepping further into the man’s personal space. “Go ahead. Hit me, I dare you. Give me a good old smack, see what happens.”

A strong hand gripping his shoulder pulled his attention away and Bobby gave him a warning look, “Eddie, that’s enough. You head upstairs as well; I’ll join you all shortly.”

Eddie stood for a moment longer and just seethed, before he scoffed in disgust and turned his back on Buck’s horrible excuse for a father.

He heard Bobby, somehow still amazingly calm and collected, telling the man that he could either leave willingly or be escorted out, handcuffs notwithstanding.

Eddie stormed the stairs two at a time and started pacing angrily in front of the couch Hen and Chim had sat Buck down on. He looked completely shut down, eyes still staring almost vacantly at the ground as his body shook.

“God, who the hell does he think he is?” Eddie practically growled, “To think he can just come in here and get away with that?”

“Eddie,” Hen called, stern but quiet, “Knock it off.” And she gestured to where Buck was sitting, shaking somehow intensified.

With a pang of guilt, Eddie realized he had unintentionally scared his best friend even more. “Buck, hey I am so sorry.” His tone immediately shifted, and he knelt down in the least threatening way possible. “I’m not mad at you, I promise. Can I sit by you?” He was treating Buck much the same way he would treat Christopher when he was younger and still blaming himself for simple accidents.

It took a moment, but eventually Buck gave a halting nod of his head and Eddie was up and by his side in seconds, swapping out places with Chimney who went to retrieve the med kit; the broken skin directly on Buck’s cheekbone almost sent Eddie over the edge again.

“Is it alright if I put my arm around you?” He knew Hen was already all over the physical support area, but he felt the need to act, at least do a little something.

Buck’s nod yes was quicker that time and it made Eddie’s heart lift, if only slightly.

“Okay Buckaroo,” Chim called, announcing his presence long before he came into peripheral view. “I just need to clean that cut up a little bit, alright?”

“Um,” Buck’s voice wavered, his eyes scrunched tight, “Can you-just um, I need a minute okay?”

Chim’s voice was gentle with understanding, “Of course, you just tell me whenever you’re ready.”

“Yeah and we’re right here for you.” Hen’s words were accompanied with a gentle squeeze of his shoulder. She met Eddie’s eyes over Buck’s ducked head, seeing the sadness she was feeling reflected right back at her.

Buck tried taking several deep breaths to try and calm himself, they were all halting and uneven, but his shaking quelled a little, which was better than nothing. Finally, he opened his eyes again, but his gaze remained trained on the ground by his feet. “Um, Eddie? Can I-” He trailed off, but his fingers extended to where Eddie’s hand was gripping his thigh, just above the knee, and Eddie understood immediately what he wanted.

He didn’t hesitate for a moment, gripping Buck’s hand within his own, “Of course.”

Buck’s grasp was tight, and his hands were definitely still shaking, but the support seemed to give him the confidence he needed. He still didn’t look up, but he nodded, “Okay,” He gave Chimney the go ahead.

Chim crouched down slowly, trying to make sure Buck could see him, the last thing Chim wanted was to startle his friend with any sudden movements. “Alright, so I just have to clean it and then put a little butterfly strip on, sound good?”

“Let’s do it.”

Eddie felt Buck’s fingers curl tighter around his palm, and by the look Chim sent Hen, they hadn’t missed the change either.

“Okay Buckaroo, I’m gonna be coming in, just my hands with some antiseptic.”

Eddie took it as a good sign that Buck didn’t flinch as soon as Chim’s hands got near his face, he did hiss and pull back slightly though when the antiseptic wipe was applied.

“I know.” Hen hummed in sympathy.

Chim winced, the last thing he wanted was to cause Buck further pain, “Sorry bud. Almost done.” A second later he was gently pressing two ends of a small butterfly bandage over the broken skin. He rubbed his thumb across his lower cheek, and Buck smiled up at him ever so slightly. Chim smiled back encouragingly, “All done. I think someone deserves a sucker.”

“You have one?” Buck joked, although he sounded slightly hopeful.

Their conversation was interrupted as Bobby came trudging up the stairs, and any progress they seemed to have made disappeared as Buck reverted back into himself. He quickly pulled his hand from Eddie’s and ducked his head down, refusing to make eye contact.

Eddie stifled a disappointed sigh and moved his hand back to Buck’s knee, giving it a gentle squeeze to show his friend he was still there offering support.

Bobby saw Buck shrink from him and tried not to take it personally, he was the big authority figure of the station, he posed the most potential for threat no matter how small it was. The reaction still made his heart ache.

Bobby sat with a heavy sigh on the ground directly in front of the couch, eyes sad. He wanted to show Buck he was not a threat and getting below him in the least scary position possible seemed like a good place to start. His voice was gentle when he spoke, “Hey kiddo, I didn’t call Athena, but I can. She can help you press charges if you want, we won’t have any problem proving aggravated assault.”

Buck shook his head quickly, “No, no that would just-just make things worse. It’s fine, he’ll leave soon enough. I shouldn’t have yelled like that anyway.”

“Hey,” Bobby was quick to shut down that line of thinking. “First of all, this was in no way your fault. And no matter what you did, it did not warrant his reaction. You understand? You didn’t deserve that, and it’s not your fault that it happened.”

Buck bit his bottom lip, trying to quell the waves of tears pooling in his eyes once again. “God, I thought I was past that, past him. It’s been like seven years.”

Hen’s face crinkled in confusion, “Didn’t your dad say he hadn’t seen you in like, almost ten years.”

Buck just shrugged, as if to say, “that’s one way to deal with it”.

Eddie’s grip just tightened further around his shoulder, subconsciously pulling Buck as close to his body as possible. “Do you want us to call anyone? Maddie?”

At the mention of his sister’s name, Buck’s wide eyes shot up and zeroed in on where Chim was busying himself putting the antiseptic wipes away. “No! You can’t mention this to her!”

Chim blinked, before realization dawned, and a sad sigh rushed past his lips. “She doesn’t know.”

Buck shook his head as more tears followed the pre-paved trails down his cheeks, “You can’t tell her. Please Chim, she’ll only feel guilty and try to take the blame.”

“Seems to run in the family.” Hen gave Buck’s shoulder a gentle nudge.

He cracked a pitiful smile at that, and opened his mouth but Hen cut him off with a hand pressed against his lips.

“I swear to god if the next words about to come out of your mouth are “I’m sorry”, I’m-well I’m gonna hug you first but then I’m gonna be hella pissed.”

She pulled her hand away, and Buck almost cringed, not really sure what else to say other than, “Sorry?”

“Oh my-what did I just say!” Hen cried, all smiles, and pulled Buck into a tight embrace.

And if it lasted a little long or was a little tighter than was per usual, well no one was going to call them out.

When Buck pulled back his lips twitched slightly, eyes radiating silent gratitude. He sniffed and cleared his throat, “Well, Mr. Daniel Buckley ladies and gentlemen.”

Eddie gave an unimpressed shrug, “Ya know, as far as first impressions go, he left much to be desired.”

Buck barked out a wet laugh, the comment taking him by surprise. “You don’t say.”