#she made every demigod comfortable to be themselves

[riordxness]

headcannon #19

over the years, sally jackson had practically adopted all of the older kids at camp. whenever percy visited his mom, he would bring one of his cousins or annabeth or anyone he was hanging out with that day. at first, the demigods were hesitant to go with percy - scared that she wouldn't like them or that they would be intruding - but after the visited sally that first time and she showered them all with love and care, they were the ones asking percy when the next time they would go was. sometimes they even went on their own and hung out there for hours at a time. some demigods would even stop by in the middle of their quests just to check up on her and say hi. all of them loved her cooking and adored sally even more. since most of the demigod’s mortal parents weren't really involved in their lives sally was like a fresh breath of air. and they never wanted to breath out.

[aphroditesmoon]

wish you'd ask me

clarisse la rue x fem!demigod!reader

summary: you're not good at reading subtle hints, clarisse realises that maybe she should've been more upfront with her feelings for you.

warnings: fluff, oblivious!reader, clarisse is down bad, reader is very neurodivergent coded, kissing, flirting, title n fic inspired by 'Wish You'd Ask Me' by Matt Maltese.

A/N: thank you for 1.9k followers!! I love you all dearly, my ask box and dms r always open, im glad that my writing is being enjoyed by so many people<3

wc: 4.5k

You have been in camp half blood for more than 4 years. You have made yourself at home for the last several years. 

It was easy to view yourself as lesser or inadequate in comparison to other mortals during your days in the real world before you were sent to camp. The world has never failed to remind you of how different you were. Always too much or not good enough, always special and never normal

And it wasn't like you were dying for some sort of diagnosis to justify why you are the way you are, but upon discovering that you were actually a demigod, it felt like all the questions you've been harboring to yourself was finally answering themselves. 

Everything clicked. Everything made sense, though at the same time, it felt impossible. You were a very confused little girl when you first arrived at camp. A girl who just wanted someone to tell them that it'll all be alright in the end.

And you still remembered the first person to hold you by your shoulders and made you look into their eyes as they told you that it was all going to be okay.

The girl with beautiful long curls and dark piercing eyes. The girl that everyone else, apparently, was afraid of.

But you could never be afraid of Clarisse La Rue. 

Not with the way she smiles when every time she sees you, the way she never fails to make you feel included even in activities you're not capable of participating in. Not with the way your whole body electrifies every time your skin touches, when your hands brush against each other. 

It didn't matter what anyone think, because no one could change the perception you've built of her. Clarisse La Rue is good. Or at least she is to you.

When you first heard of the rumours surrounding her, you did think better than to force a friendship on her. You strayed away from her and stuck to your cabin siblings and your books, but you noticed daily how she'd still go out of her way to talk to you at least once a day.

It didn't need to be a long conversation, just a passing acknowledgement. An easygoing 'hey, how've you been doing.' Sometimes she'd even go as far as cracking a joke with you.

With how serious her face is whenever she make the jokes, you'd have to think twice as hard and thrice as faster than another person to try and guess if she was being genuine or not so you could fit in a necessary laugh when you needed to.

Even as her anger became more apparent because of the new kid's accidental climb to fame and embarrassing the Ares' cabin, she still found time to make a conversation with you.

It had been long since you tried to ignore or avoid her. You learned that her attention towards you is harmless, and that she seemed much more comfortable telling you certain things compared to others. If she has been viewing you as some sort of safe box, then you don't really mind it. You liked listening to her talk and keeping her heart's intent as your secret.

You too, talking to her. To some people, you are reserved,  

and to others, talkative. Either way, people find it easy to discard you at any moment they decide you are irritating.

But Clarisse listens. And she asks questions, she's patient- much patient that anyone could anticipate or guess. 

It may be hard for others to believe, but Clarisse is more complex than she seems. She had the capacity to be gentle, and she had the capacity to respect boundaries. The more time you spent with her, the more that side becomes easy for you to access.

Today, however,  marks a new record for your friendship with her. A few weeks ago, she had informed you of her newfound interest in the history of folklore monsters. What a coincidence that you were currently self-studying on that specific topic.

She insisted that you hook her in on whatever it is you're learning. She had even gotten you a doughnut to eat together outside the library as you told her of your insights of dragons and their theorized blindness and incapability to differentiate a variety of prey.

The conversation went well, she seemed immensely in awe of your knowledge and had no problem telling you how she felt. 

You even gave her some book recommendations, though you knew she wasn't much of a reader.

You felt a shift in your relationship that night and had spent the next three days studying more and more about the topic. And today, you had asked her to spend the evening with you. 

You shouldn't feel so nervous asking her to hang out. That is what friends do, after all.

She found you in the library, sitting on the floor in between two large bookshelves. She had been right on time and enthusiastically so. The two of you sat together, hidden by the shelves as some semblance of privacy. 

Clarisse looked confused when you had explained that you indeed wanted to spend the rest of the day in the library, but she accompanied you anyways.

You could never get sick of the smell of the books. Old and new, they all have some nostalgic past tied in between the pages, begging to be discovered. 

You had your back on the walls with tinted windows above your head as she's seated opposite of you in a criss-crossed position.

Today, the library isn't as packed as usual. There were still people walking in and out and checking out the books on the counter, but not too many that it became obnoxiously loud and annoying. 

After finishing another book of Monsters and how to spot them, you're feeling knowledgeable enough to explain the lore of the Giants to Clarisse, she had asked you about this the other day, giants have been long extinct to the point that some might even say they may have never even existed. And so you were interested in sharing with her all of the information you have learned about the majestic species of a beast.

You started with the general information. The basic understanding of what a Giant is the mythhs of Giants and the validity of those sources. Clarisse listened closely in the beginning, never interrupting you unless she had an actual question.

She seemed in awe of the stories you tell her of. You don't blame her, for you yourself have been most interested in the topic of Giants.

You were an hour an a half in when noticed her attention faltering. She leaned against the cases of books, her eyes twitched slightly when you began to explain the different types of giants, and the difference of how they operate.

Her hands are folded together on her lap, and you can feel her listening in on everything you're telling her as she adds in some commentary here and there, but you also felt that she wasn't entirely in on the conversation.

The dim lights of the library made the atmosphere feel warm and secluded, even with its vast space and many other campers hanging around in the other tables and shelves. You made sure to keep your voice low as you spoke in fear of the librarian kicking you out. 

You had a good reputation with the library workers, they liked how organized and polite you were. 

"A lot of people think their greatest strength is their size, which is valid, they are huge, but their real weapon is their mouth." You told Clarisse, ignoring the litter of books by your left that you had brought over for reference.

"They kiss you to death?" She asks suspiciously. You laughed shortly and shook your head. "No, I mean their breath."

She responds with an 'ohh.' 

"They're giants, so their mouth is large too, and you can easily tell what they had for breakfast even from their tall height. Their breaths are also known to be so rancid it could kill you, because they don't exactly eat what we eat." 

She raises a brow as she stretches her hands upwards. "Isn't that ogres?" 

"It's both." You confirmed.

You were about to continue your explanation but halted by instinct as you notice how her mouth keeps pursing together as if unsatisfied, and she has that look on her face that mimicked a confused expression. You're don't think there's anything to be confused of.

"Are you okay?" You asked her worriedly. Clarisse sits up straighter at the question and waved a hand off to assure you she's fine. "Of course, no yeah- I'm fine."

"You seem bored, you're not really interested in what I'm saying are you?” She opens her mouth to counter your words but hesitates to say anything. 

"I- well, I like giants-" She attempts, "-no you don't. " 

"No. I don't." She admits with a sigh. "But I thought you said you were interested in these kind of stuff?" You questioned her. "Well, yeah, like the general idea of it. I mean, I don't hate it, and I like hearing you talk about it." She answers with a shrug.

"Then why do you look disappointed? If you didn't want to come, you could've just told me. I wouldn't get mad." You told her honestly. It was conflicting for you to see her so confused on what to say, being so picky with the words she chooses.

You figured she's probably reluctant to hurt your feelings. That is a notion you're used to. You'd rather she tell you the truth to your face than to be catered around like a time ticking bomb that everyone's so afraid might explode at any time. 

"When you asked me out yesterday, you told me this would be an 'evening to remember." She tells you with such confidence like it was an explanation to her weird behaviour today.

"You don't think this is an evening to remember?" You sincerely inquire.

"No, I do! I just- well, when you said that I didn't think you'd mean we'd be doing this." Your frown deepens as you try to figure out what she means, eyeing her body language closely. “What do you mean? I told you I wanted to hang out.” 

A part of you is offended. She was the one who had said she liked hearing you speak, why would she be disappointed that this was your idea of spending time together?

"I don't know, I thought we'd just be doing...something else?"

It didn't matter what she had really meant with that. You felt completely embarrassed once she finished her sentence. Why was it that everyone else had no problem having long conversations with their friends, but when it came to you, it's all too awkward, unnecessary, and odd? 

You liked Clarisse, you considered her your friend. Sometimes you wonder if it could ever be more, but you never entertain those thoughts because you don't want to ruin what the two of you already have. 

But moments like these resemble a huge slap in the face by the universe.

You couldn't even be good friends with her, how ridiculous of you to think that there could ever be something more.

"Okay, um, maybe we should just go back to our cabin." You decided whilst standing up and picking up the stack of books you're currently borrowing from the library, ready to leave the place without waiting for her.

"Hey, wait." She called out as you walked past her. You spared her a glance, trying your best not to show how upset you are.  “We're friends." She says it so much like a question that you weren't sure if she's even sure of the fact herself until she continued speaking. "I like hanging out with you."

Another thing that you weren't sure if she really meant. "Sure." You replied thinking it's the most suitable response. 

Before she could say anything else, you turned around and started picking up your pace until you disappeared out of her sight.

—

You have been consistently ignoring Clarisse. Which proved to be harder than expected.

When you pass by her camp or the training ground, you make a mental note to always look down or to your front as to never accidentally cross eyes with her.

And everytime you hear her call out your name, you keep walking like you didn't even hear her, knowing that she wouldn't be bold enough to call for you again. After all, she still had a reputation to uphold.

If ignoring her wasn't hard enough, having to deal with how you felt for her is worse.

You've been avoiding confrontation with yourself for weeks even before you decided to go no contact with her.

And so far, you thought you've been handling it pretty well. Except for days where you don't see her where she's expected to be. You tell yourself that you don't care as you make your way to training in the day and reading in the evening, and yet you still go back on your own words when you asked a passerby Ares kid on where his cabin leader was.

"She's dunking some kid's head into a toilet bowl." Of course she was.

You thanked the dude and went back on your way to your cabin. It's close to dusk, the sky is turning orange and the sun is dipping itself below the earth. You take your time returning to your cabin as you enjoy the way the sun slowly removes itself from anyone's viewing.

You wondered to yourself if things like these are what makes you weird or off-putting to some people.

Was enjoying nature and having niche interests only cute when it's done by girls pretty enough to be cool or if it's only in romance movies or books.

You don't find yourself weird, in fact you think all of your hobbies are pretty common and usual, and yet the way Clarisse had spoken to you at the library last week had made you feel unnatural.

You had wanted to do normal people things with her, but maybe your perception of normal is different to her.

Either way, you are pretty hurt with how she reacted. You loved her still, of course. It's kind of hard to unlike the girl you've been obsessed with since you were 15.

Once you finally reach your cabin, you quickly put down all of your books and your tiny sling back by the side before making it to the shower to refresh yourself before dinner.

You thought it hilarious of how hard you're trying not to care about Clarisse, and yet as you're cleaning yourself up, changing your clothes and attempting to read at least 15 pages of your World's Most Dangerous Beasts book, you could only think of her.

What would it take for her to think that you're cool, what kind of things did she want to do instead of listening to you yap around for 2 hours on what is an equivalent of a boring dinosaur facts, not that you really think dinosaurs are boring.

During dinner, you kept to siblings and had to make yourself finish your plate as your anxiety wrecking thoughts have a way of deriving you of an appetite. You also had to convince yourself to not search for her at the other tables which took more strength than one would expect.

But you succeeded, and you were now sure that the only obstacle left for the day was to try and fall asleep without the thoughts of her keeping you up.

Clarisse is a force, a fierce daughter of Ares, and a cabin leader who had much better things to do then hole up at quiet small places with you.

And just because she was nice enough to mantain a good relationship with you for 4 years, does not mean that you're worth her time. Or at least that's what you tell yourself.

That night, you managed to fall asleep after an hour of recalling Harpy facts in repetition. Counting sheeps had never worked on you, so you had to find something much more active to tire out your brain.

You dreamed of Clarisse with her hair down, holding your hand and pulling you closer so she could slip a flower on your ear.

And just as she's looking down at you, moving closer to do what it seemed like to kiss you, you awoke with a jolt, swearing under your breath as if you'd just gotten jumpscared by a ghost.

Someone's palms moved to shut your lips as you're met with a girl, hovering over you in the dark. Clarisse's dark eyes were recognizable, but it sent a shot of adrenaline through your body still.

"Shh." She whispered to your face, hand still keeping your mouth shut. "I'm going to remove my hands now." She whispered again. You nod in understanding and waited for her to pry her hand away from your face.

"What are you doing here?!" You exclaimed as quiet as possible as she helped you sit up.

"I'm sneaking you out." She answers with a wink. "It's 2 in the morning." You waved your hand around at the darkness and sleeping children. "3 in the morning, and yeah, I know. That's why it's called sneaking around." She corrects you with a grin so devilish that if you hadn't known her for a long time, you'd assume she's about to turn you into a new toilet bowl or dumpster boxing victim.

You sighed loudly and glared at her despite your fast beating heart. Her hand remained on top of yours until the minute becomes more awkward and she removes it as if she just remembered that she's been holding your hand.

Without explanation,  she climbed out of your bed and tiptoes to the open cabin door. You're still sitting up and looking at her with conflicted feelings.

Only after she turns back to you, cocking her head towards the entrance, do you give into her request and softly leave the comfort of your bed and trail after her.

"Where are we going?" You asked after her as she kept walking. Instead of responding, she asks you another question back, "Can you swim?"

"We're going swimming?" You watch her shrug in return from behind her and became even more distressed.

"So, is this your idea of having fun and hanging out then?" She laughs drily and slowed down so you could catch up. You walked fast enough until you're beside her and waited for her to talk. "You sound surprised, I would've thought that after 4 years of friendship, you'd know by now that I love doing things that includes active movements."

You did know that, it's a bit hard to not notice how much working out, training and running fuels her even more.

"And why are we doing it in the middle of the night?" The walk towards the lake by the back of the forest was short, considering that your cabin is the closest to the location.

You almost tripped and fell over a stick, but Clarisse was quick to scoop you back up by the back of your shirt. "Thanks." You mumbled to her. "And you haven't answered my question."

Clarisse pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the ground without caring of your presence. You, having more moral obligations than her, twisted your face to your left when she began to pull her trousers off. "Too many people in broad daylight." She tells you.

That is a valid reason, this lake is mostly known as a hook up spot, and true to it's cause, many dating campers have been caught together here during dawn or late evenings.

You braved yourself to turn towards her again slowly and realised that she had already hopped into the water. She had a sports bra on and a boxer.

And though you yourself had a tank top and shorts on, you contemplate the idea of suicide as a better choice than having to strip in front of her.

"Are you gonna get in, or are you just gonna gawk at me from there?" You were grateful for the dark being able to hide your flushed face from her, but deep down, you knew that she probably saw it anyways because of the shining bright moonlight.

"I can't swim." You told her.

"That's fine, the water's not very deep." You ransacked your brain for reasons to decline her offer, but at the same time, a small part of you yearned to take this risk that you've been so afraid of for gods knows whatever reason.

Clarisse is there, in the water and under the moonlight. You are only a few steps away from her. And like she said, the water isn't deep, only waist length. She stares back at you with a raised brow like she's challenging you to join her.

"Turn around first." You tell her. She smirked slightly before slowly spinning to the opposite direction. "You know I've seen you naked before right?"

"What?" You choked out, aghast. "Who do you think changed your clothes for you when you first got to camp." Oh, that.

Your shoulder relaxes as you realize she's talking about the first time you met. "That's was a long time ago." You noted. She hummed im agreement. "Yeah, we've both grown since."

You told her she could turn around once you're inside the water. Forgetting about the heighy difference between you two, the water was high enough to reach your chest, trying your best not to trip underwater the way you always do on dry ground, your hand instinctively reached outnfor her shoulder.

Clarisse held your forearm tightly and drew your closer to her until you're inches away from eachother.

You breathed in sharply and felt the need to fill in the awkward silence. "So, you...like swimming, huh?"

"Yes, evidently so." She answered. "Right right, can't sit still and all that." She actually chuckled at your sarcasm, making you proud of yourself.

"You know, even before I came to camp Half Blood, I use to be a pretty active person, running track, volleyball, sometimes swimming." Your eyes widened in curiosity. "Really?" She nodded.

"The counselor told my mom that I just had so many untapped energy, which I guess is a code for anger issues." Her grip on your forearm moves higher until her palm is over your shoulder.  "She told her that it'd be best for me to find a...healthy way, to channel that energy, and for my strong competitiveness. So I joined what I could, and that's how I spent most of my free time there. Besides, I never was that good academically. So, I ought to at least be good at something, right?"

"You are good." You blurted out. Your embarrassment faded away when you saw her smile. "You think so?"

"Yeah." You assured her. Her other hand had snaked around your waist without you noticing. Only when you moved slightly do you notice her holding you softly.

"The moon is really nice tonight, isn't it?" You said, trying to diffuse the tension. You pointed your finger up to the sky at the singular white orb.

She glanced up and let out a 'huh.'

"I like it when it's bright and whole like this, the moon in all of its glory. You don't even notice the starts around it when it's glowing like that." You could stare at the moom forever, even longer than the way you've been staring at the sun.

You believed in it the way children do with their birthday candle. To you, the moon has always been a symbol of hope or comfort for your future. Your fascination for it existed from when you were a child, the way it'd follow you from behind as you gazed upon it from the back of the car seat whilst your parent drove down the road.

The way it moved above you as you walked home from school, like one of the gods themselves watching over you.

"Nothing compares to the moon." You announced aloud, watching as the clouds around it began to gather over it. "Yeah, It's beautiful." You hear Clarisse speak.

As your head snapped back to her, you found that she had already been facing you.

"I like the moon...but not as much as I like you." She whispered loud enough for your ears only. Her face leans closer to yours, your noses brushing together. "Not as much as I like to hear your voice, when you tell me about your little harpy facts-"

"Oh, I haven't told you about the harpies yet." You cut her off. "I just finished that chapter this morning actually and-"

"-and, you can tell me about it after I'm done talking." You blushed and became silent, letting her speak.

Clarisse exhaled breathily, fanning your face with the subtle warm air. "I like doing things that friends do with you, but I don't want to be your friend anymore."

"Oh."

"I want to be more than friends." She elaborated.

"Oh." Oh.

You feel a sudden tightness in your chest, from anxiety or from butterflies is undecided. "You want to be best friends?" You joked, laughing nervously.

Clarisse snorted at your joke, but she was still grinning widely. "Best friends, If that's what you want to call it."

There was a moment of understanding shared between a second of shared gazes before her lips attached themselves to yours. An urgency, approval, meaning that can't be described by words.

Whatever gentleness there was inside of her before had vanished. Clarisse kissed you like a starved woman. Her lips craved yours like it'd be the last time she'll ever know how you taste like.

Your hands clasped on her shoulder and neck for support as she embraced you tighter to her body. You let her tongue slip into your mouth, meeting your own.

And as they danced together, inhaling all there is in your lips, every secret and every confession that have died on the tip ofnyour tongues, you are sure that no heaven nor hell could tear you open to see you back together like this.

You push her back abruptly, letting fresh air fill your empty lungs. "What's wrong?" Clarisse inquired worriedly.

"Last week." You sighed out, chest still heaving as your thoughts clicked together. "You thought I had asked you on a date, that's why you were disappointed."

She winced at the reminder, and for the first time in your life, you had been lucky enough to witness a flustered Clarisse.

"I'm right." Her silence confirmed. "Oh Clarisse, why didn't you just ask me?"

Huffing loudly, she rolls her eyes in irritation. "I thought I was obvious enough. "

Thinking back on it all, it did seem pretty obvious, but gods were you oblivious. The way you intepreted it all so wrongly.

"I've liked you for so long too." You admitted to her. Her scowl was gone at that, replaced by a teasing smile. "And what are you gonna do about it?" Her mouth returned to yours, letting go of all your fears and holding on to Clarisse like she's your anchor, you close the gap between your lips, welcoming the kind of pleasure that you've never tasted before.

[nvirskies]

sand - c. la rue

idea taken from one of @star-girl69 's asks about married clarisse and immediately went to think about how the vast majority of greek demigods didn't get to live past their 20's or even teen years... and the survivor's guilt that would come with being one of the few lucky enough to live longer.

warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, traumatic nightmare flashbacks, descriptions of violence, descriptions of blood + war, spoilers for TLO, set after both reader and clarisse leave CHB about 6-8 years into the future, google translated Greek term of endearment, crying, survivor's guilt, platonic RueGard, ooc Clarisse, she's matured more over time and more articulate with her feelings and words

summary: clarisse wakes up from a particularly bad nightmare in the middle of the night, reader comforts her through a breakdown

wife!fem!demigod!reader x wife!clarisse la rue

word count: 2.2k

καρδιά μου (kardiá mou) - my heart

Η καρδιά μου είναι η καρδιά σου (I kardiá mou eínai i kardiá sou) - my heart is your heart

"but you have more pieces of me than than desert has sand, and I have less pieces of you than I can hold in my hand" sand, alchemical: vol. 1, dove cameron

taglist: @lvrue @star-girl69 @azrielsdiary @petitegavotte @b0ok-lover

men, nsfw, non-sapphic, 16-/19+ dni

Greek demigods fell in love hard and fast with an unmatched intensity. They normally didn’t live long enough to even envision themselves in their adult lives, and why would they? Every day was a struggle to stay alive with monsters coming in from all angles and quests most didn’t come back from.

And that was why, as soon as the two of you graduated high school, Clarisse got down on a knee and proposed with the knowledge that you were the one she would want to spend the rest of her life, however long or short, with.

When you two had graduated college, the next thing in the books was to make it official in the courthouse, and that was what you had done. No extravagant party or ceremony, just a quiet day in the courthouse and a night in to celebrate.

But no matter how far the two of you ran from Camp Half-Blood, the nightmares never went away, never got better. As the years passed, more of the people you had considered friends died. One after the other, falling like cursed dominos, helplessly standing by as they all tumbled down.

Soon, the nightmares became more about the people that were lost than the monsters themselves. Nightly plagues of searingly painful memories from watching the life drain from so many demigods’ eyes burned themselves in both of your psyches.

All you could do was hope Charon would be kind enough to ferry them across the Styx without his payment of a silver coin.

And tonight certainly hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary with the two of you and your limbs interlaced in a protective embrace while sleep claimed your minds, as if the both of you could protect each other from the monsters both in and outside.

Your head, nestled into her chest. Her deep, rhythmic breathing made your hair flutter ever so slightly as she exhaled. Her arms, wrapped loosely around your waist, hands not-so-sneakily under the baggy shirt of hers you had stolen to wear as pajamas for the night. It was all perfect. Too perfect.

You would be damned fools to think that peace would last for so long. Demigods didn’t get peace, they didn’t get tranquility, and they especially didn’t get uninterrupted domestic bliss.

Unbeknownst to you, Clarisse’s face contorted into one of distress. Her arms pulled you in closer subconsciously as the all too familiar face of Morpheus greeted her with a sly smirk on his face in her dreams.

In moments, she was transported back to the Battle of Manhattan.

She was seventeen again.

Blood was everywhere. Abandoned weapons lay on the floor, the hands that once gripped them tightly, now loose and limp. Shrill screams echoed throughout the air, all cut short by gut-wrenching sounds of fatal injury. Metal cut through flesh. Acid burnt through metal. Flames licked and greedily consumed anything and everything as fuel.

Her feet felt heavy, her hands numb. She could do nothing but stand and watch it all unfold before her own eyes, forced to relive the carnage and devastation that had ripped through Manhattan on that fateful day.

Morpheus’ voice whispered in her right ear, the sound of it sending an uneasy chill down her spine. “Daughter of Ares. A fitting dream, no? Your father must have been proud of you for the way you fought after… well, I’ll let you relive that, too.” Before she could blink, she was transported to the moment right after Silena had been sprayed by the Lydian Drakon.

Clarisse was too late. She had always been too late.

She was back on her knees, choking and weeping bitterly as Silena lay in her arms, watching as life slowly left her once-lively eyes.

What kind of a warrior even was she? So weak that she couldn’t even protect her friend? Too weak to protect the girl who had adorned her armor and led her siblings into battle?

Just as Clarisse reached out to touch Silena’s face to wipe away the one mark of smudged eyeliner that the Aphrodite girl normally would never have even allowed to happen in the past, she was jerked back to consciousness, eyes flying open and arms almost crushing your sleeping form momentarily as she came to.

No longer was she in Manhattan, instead sheltered in the familiarly adorned walls of your shared bedroom. Upon the walls hung framed pictures of joyous times past and her sword collection, among other things.

Familiar faces stared back at her, some faces that would never age again. Immortalized memories of times that would never happen again. Everyone was dead or scattered across the globe.

A particular picture caught Clarisse’s eye. It was a portrait of Silena that she had commissioned one of the Apollo kids to draw for the daughter of Aphrodite’s seventeenth birthday.

She never lived to see that day.

Her eyes locked with Silena’s in the drawing for a moment, and that moment was one too much as hot tears began to prick in the corners of her eyes.

She had inadvertently woken you up with the way her arms tightened around your waist in a near vice grip, slowly coming to your senses. No longer were her breaths slow and rhythmic, their steadfast pattern replaced by one that was erratic and shallow. The once-steady thumping cadence of her heart as it beat in her chest was now quickened, all of which you could hear with your head having been nestled into her chest.

Craning your head to look up at her, you were greeted with the sight of Clarisse desperately trying to silently blink back tears and control her own breathing.

Hurriedly, you pushed yourself up off her chest and tugged the blankets off the two of you before sitting down on her lap. You took note of the way her hands had never left your waist, holding onto you as if she were drowning and you were the last life ring thrown out.

It wasn’t anything you and Clarisse hadn’t dealt with before. The nightmares had been a part of your lives as far back as you could remember, it just came with the territory of being a demigod. But they never got any easier as time went on.

She watched silently with eyes brimming with unshed tears, pleading wordlessly with you to do something, anything to make it all go away.

“Let’s switch, yeah? You can lay on me and completely cover me if you want, love,” you offered up, a melancholy smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. Wordlessly, she nodded and you slipped off her lap, laying back where she had just been moments ago.

Gently patting your chest, you motioned for her to rest her head on it, knowing that the rest of her body would soon follow, completely engulfing your form with hers. After she had positioned herself, her arms snaked around your waist again as she simply held you for a few moments, her face pressed into your chest as tears slowly soaked into your shirt.

One hand reached out to gently run along the length of her back, the motion meant to soothe. A few beats passed in silence before you spoke in a hushed whisper, the bedroom devoid of sound beyond the two of you breathing in tandem with each other.

“You hear that, love? That’s my heart,” you murmured softly, craning your neck to press a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “It’s beating, beating for you. Η καρδιά μου είναι η καρδιά σου.”

She didn’t respond beyond releasing another shaky sob into your chest and tightening her grip around your body, but you didn’t mind. You didn’t need her to talk just yet.

“You’re also η καρδιά μου, you know that, right? My heart, my wife, my love, my everything. And I’m yours. Entirely yours, and I”m not going anywhere.” You craned your neck again to press another kiss against the crown of her head, hand never stopping its path of running gently along the length of her back.

“I would go down to the depths of Tartarus for you. I would challenge Hades himself to a fight if it meant I had even a glimmer of a chance in getting you back.”

Never once did you try to rush her into talking or shushing her tears. You knew her better than you knew yourself, and giving her time to let everything out was the best thing you could do for her at the moment.

You were her safe space, the one woman that she could let her walls down around. She wasn’t Ares’ star daughter in your arms, she was just Clarisse. No expectations dangling over her head, just open arms and understanding.

After another few quiet moments, she finally spoke up in between half-choked sobs, whispering so quietly that her voice was nearly inaudible, “Silena… Manhattan… should have been able to save her,” before letting her face fall back down onto your chest, releasing another pained cry.

“She’s gone- a-and everyone else too- why me?”

Her question left you speechless, mouth partly opened in an attempt to come up with a reassuring response, but nothing seemed to come to mind immediately. It was rare for this to happen, as you normally had just the right words at the top of your tongue, weaving them as Arachne once wove tapestries on her loom.

“They’re all gone and- and- ”

“Shh, love…” you cut her off, gently pulling her head up to look her in the eyes, your other hand leaving her back to wipe the tears that were still streaming down her cheeks with the pad of your thumb. “Please, don’t go back into that self-sacrificial spiral. Talk to me, tell me what the dream was about?”

She only shook her head in response, unwilling to divulge details of the memory that had shattered your night of otherwise perfect proportions.

Deflating back on top of you, she whispered, “They’re all gone, and we’re one of the only ones remaining. It was like every time another one of them died, that small part of myself that I gave to them died as well.”

Her arms that were wrapped around your waist tightened for a moment before going limp along with the rest of her body as she lay atop you, her head pressed against your chest.

“Love…” you began softly as one of your hands found its way to her head and carded gently through her curls. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened. None of it was your fault. We didn’t ask to be born, to be thrown into this mess of a world and tossed around like pawns in the gods’ game of chess with our lives.”

“We didn’t ask for this life, and we were so young at the time. For fuck’s sake, we were only seventeen- we hadn’t even made out yet. We hadn’t graduated high school yet, there were so many things we couldn’t control.

“None of it was your fault, I promise you. You were so brave, and you did everything you could.” She stayed silent as you spoke, the only sounds coming from her were the soft, shaky breaths as she sniffled and burrowed her face further into your shirt.

“I can’t explain to you why so many things had to happen, that’s up to the Fates. I can’t give you the pieces of yourself back that you lost when we kept losing everyone,” you murmured whilst your hands kept on with their idle motions.

It shattered your heart to give her such an incomplete answer when you knew it was tearing her apart inside to live with it all, but there was nothing you could do beyond offer solace and comfort. “And for that, I am so, so sorry. But the one thing I can do is keep the piece you’ve granted me to keep, safe and sound.”

She only nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak in fear of her own vulnerability. Her tears soaked into your shirt, but you didn’t care. All that was important was that Clarisse was here, in your arms, and slowly calming down.

Clarisse knew just as well as you did that everyone had done the best they could with the circumstances given, and that the loss affected you just as deeply. But she didn’t dig into that, it would be a can of worms to open for another time, another sleepless night where your own troubles caught up with you after running from them for so long.

And so, the rest of the night stretched on into early morning, the two of you half-awake, seeking silent solace in each other until sunlight crept into the bedroom through the cracks of the curtains the next day.

The two of you might have been running from your trauma like runners to a marathon, but at least you were running hand-in-hand with matching strides.

[nyxvamps]

Aphrodite Cabin:

Instead of being a life size barbie dreamhouse like it is described in the books, its very subtle, and natural, and soft

The outside is pink, but such a pale pink that it looks white unless the right light is hitting it.

There is natural ivy growing only each wall and onto the roof. It wraps around shutters and the frames of the doors.

It almost looks like a small manor. Looks like it should have been built on some far off hill that is surrounded by flower fields for miles.

The inside is very cozy and welcoming. The walls are a muted dark green and there are so many pictures, posters, mirrors, shelves, etc that you can barely see the paint.

There are bedrooms in the cabin. It looks normal on the outside but Mama wanted the best for her children so she did her magic on it and made it a lot bigger on the inside. There are bedrooms, four to a room, and the main room is more of a common room/lounge area.

There is a walk-in, expanding, closet where you put old clothes you don’t want anymore and other siblings can come and get some new clothes if they need them. (Other campers are welcome whenever invited. It happens more often than it should)

There are traditions that have spanned centuries.

There is an item from every sibling that has lived in that cabin somewhere on the walls. All of the pictures, posters, things on the shelves are placed there by a past sibling.

There is an ever growing stack of finished rubix cubes that each have a piece of tape with the time on it.

There’s a hook where, if your jewelry breaks in the cabin, you tie it off and hang it there. There is a necklace made of leather with a hundreds year old stone heart on the hook.

It’s gross, but there is a bowl where most of the family will put their tooth in if they lose it while at camp. We pretend that it’s a flower pot whenever others campers are there.

This is newer. At the beginning of every summer, everyone (if they feel comfortable) gets in front of the rest of the cabin and gives names, pronouns, and sexuality.

Bathrooms are co ed and there have been multiple times that someone had been late to an event because an impromptu fashion show happened in the bathroom

Unironically, there is a mirror in the cabin where, if you are feeling down, you go and say those cheesy affirmations to make you feel better about whatever was bothering you.

Mama actually charmed it to give the person in front of it a clearer mind and more confidence in themselves.

There is a goal, from the early 1800’s, to make the entire camp think that aphrodite kids are the weakest of the demigods.

The goal is to train up enough and bide our time so that we can destroy the entire camp at capture the flag.

Its sometimes opens up peoples eyes to how quickly people accept that all aphrodite kids are just pampered prissy rich kids.

etc.

[poppitron360]

Hii! Can I ask for some of your more lighthearted (as in not too angsty) Leo Valdez headcanons?

1. CANNOT SIT ON A CHAIR PROPERLY

FOR THE LIFE OF HIM. YOU COULD POINT A GUN TO HIS HEAD AND HE STILL COULDN’T DO IT.

I NEED MORE FANART OF THIS PLEASE

2. Can in theory breathe fire but doesn’t bc it gives him a really bad sore throat.

3. Still reading TOA- I just found out that Leo’s full name is “Leonidas” (either that or it’s a nickname Calypso gave him, but the fandom seem to agree that it’s his real name) but he HATES it when Calypso calls him that, so my hc is ANNABETH is the ONLY one with “Leonidas” privileges. And that’s bc he’s so fucking terrified of her he doesn’t DARE appose her on it. I feel like she does use it respectfully though.

Hazel is also allowed to use it sparingly.

4. Oh yeah fuck canon Leo and Annabeth are besties and they bond over both being runaways and also engineering/architecture stuff. Leo’s DEFINITELY had a peek around Daedalus’ laptop- his design for an automaton that can house a human soul got him thinking about his mom. He always planned on maybe taking a closer look at those files but then the laptop got lost in Tartar Sauce. I know you said no angst. Whoops.

5. Leo and Hazel start a support group for demigods who have come back from the dead. Every Wednesday in New Rome. Biscuits and Orange Juice will be provided. They call themselves the “YOLTers” (You Only Live Twice- because YOLO is for the weak). Thalia is also a frequent attendee.

6. I hc him as hard of hearing after the explosion in Blood of Olympus. Specifically deaf in his right ear and chronic tinnitus in his left. He uses hearing aids sometimes and also uses ASL and Morse Code to communicate. I choose to view that as wholesome bc we need more disability representation.

7. He is a “Leonidas” ONLY at Starbucks. He then follows it up with a bunch of equally hard-to-pronounce middle names (which he completely made up) said in a rapid-fire Spanish accent and watches the Barista panic as her white ass tries to spell it all. It’s even funnier when she tries to say it back to him when giving him his order. He takes the cup (leaves a generous tip) and says “but usually I just go by Leo” and walks away.

That is pretty much my entire understanding of American culture right there-

8. Trains autistic. He loves them. In the one I’m currently reading- The Dark Prophecy- Calypso and Apollo go on a train without Leo and I’m just imagining them getting back and him being “But what kind of train was it? Standard gauge or narrow gauge? Man, I love narrow gauge trains. Did you know that there’s this place in Wales called the Ffestiniog railway, where they have this special type of locomotive where the engine- the sicky-outy bit- is like, either side of the locomotive, so that there’s no need for a turntable-“

Okay I might also love narrow gauge trains (I’ve been on the Ffestiniog railway, it is amazing) (Also that is not a typo, in Welsh I believe the double f makes a soft sound (like in “off”) and a single f makes a hard sound, more like a v (like in “of”) you learn a new thing every day!)

9. Ambidextrous but Left-hand dominant (Often has to specify to his tool belt that he needs left-handed tools)

10. When speaking will put weird pauses in the middle of a sentence and not stop between sentences like talkingreallyfastwhenhe’sreally exited and talking slowly when he’s tiredit’skindaweird and choppy like hisbrainisgoing a million times faster than hismouth.

11. His favourite Disney film is Frozen.

12. When he’s comfortable around you, you start to hear more of his hispanic accent.

13. Said it before, will say it again. Headcannon no. 13 is ALWAYS WITHOUT FAIL “They’re a Swiftie.”

He has to listen to music as a way of not being alone with his thoughts. I discovered Taylor at a young age, and she has remained one of the few consistencies in my life since then. She got me through some tough times (Not as bad as Leo, but she helped me survive 2020). I feel like Leo would be the same- not always knowing where he’ll be sleeping that night or if food will be on the table, he’d want comfort, stability. Taylor would be there.

14. He wakes Frank up at 3am with “Hey I can’t read that what does that say?” “…Leo you wrote this. You’re telling me you can’t read your own writing?” Little does Leo know that Percy came in with exactly the same request half an hour before. Frank is finding being the only non-dyslexic on the ship incredibly frustrating.

15. Has the philosophy “anything is a fidget toy if you fidget with it” and STICKS to it

16. If Piper sees an item of clothing with an ungodsly amount of pockets, she is contractually obligated to buy it for him.

17. Eats cheese straight off the block. Like doesn’t even bother cutting it, he just *noms* straight into the block of cheese like it’s a chocolate bar. Similarly also eats Nutella straight outta the jar, sometimes without even using a spoon (and y’all know he doesn’t wash his hands).

18. Slightly more immune to electric shocks than normal bc of his way with machines (Valgrace nation do with that what you will)- similar to how Percy, as seen in botl, is a little bit fireproof.

19. You can’t tell me that during his first quest with Jason and Piper, they didn’t at least once triple-spoon with Leo in the middle bc he’s warmest.

20. In fact, “Cuddle Leo” is a common pastime for Jasiper. Particularly when it’s cold.

21. HE. CAN. SEW.

I saw a lot of people hc that Leo makes Percabeth’s wedding rings but that is factually incorrect. TYSON makes the ring. LEO makes Annabeth’s dress. I just started this fic where Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Reyna, and Rachel all go wedding dress shopping for Leo to get ideas, but he makes absolutely the most BEAUTIFUL gown for her- much better than any store. It puts all other wedding dresses to shame.

22. He can also knit, crochet (This hc was supplied by my mum who I’ve forced to read Heroes of Olympus), weave, and do macramé. He’s gone down rabbit holes about old-fashioned lacemaking. Him and Annabeth have sewing/crafting competitions at camp and on the Argo.

23. Autistic hand-flappy stim

24. He watches Stand-Up Comedy specials with Jason. I feel like if he wasn’t a mechanic he’d be a comedian (or run a taco truck, like Jason suggested in TLH). He takes his friends to as many comedy shows as he can. He loves them.

25. A Valgrace hc but it relates- while I was thinking up ways for Leo/Jason to propose (just a regular day in my brain), I had an idea for Leo to take Jason to one of those comedy shows that does crowd-work, and sits in the front row to get their attention. When the comedian asks who they are, Leo introduces Jason as his fiancé. When Jason goes, “Wait, no I’m not!” Leo yells “WELL WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE?” And gets down on one knee.

Also, sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. I’ve had this saved to my drafts and I’ve been slowly adding to it every time I get a new headcanon.

[myouiminn]

Starry Promises

Percy Jackson x Reader

Notes: don't repost without my permission!

As the day came to a close, Percy and Y/n found themselves once again by the edge of the lake, where they had shared so many special moments. They sat together, letting their feet dangle in the cool water, as the warm hues of the sunset spread across the sky.

"I never thought I'd find someone like this, someone who understands this crazy demigod life," Y/n admitted, looking at Percy with a tender smile.

Percy nodded, also gazing out at the water. "I never thought someone could dive so deeply into my world. But you... you're special, Y/n."

She looked at him, her eyes shimmering. "You're special to me too, Percy. You've shown me that even amidst the chaos and dangers, it's possible to find love and joy."

Percy reached out and held her hand, their fingers intertwining. "Y/n, I don't know what lies ahead, but I know I want to face everything with you by my side."

Y/n smiled, her expression brimming with emotion. "I want to be by your side too, Percy. No matter what happens, we'll face it together."

And then, with the tranquil lake as their witness, they sealed their promise with a gentle kiss, full of tenderness and hope. The magical world around them seemed to be in perfect harmony with the love they shared, as if the gods and destiny were celebrating this special union.

And so, beneath the starry canopy, Percy Jackson and Y/n embarked on a journey that would lead them to incredible adventures, unimaginable challenges, and a love that would only grow with time. Together, they would navigate the highs and lows of life as demigods, always remembering the power of the love that bound them and made them invincible.

~~~~~~~~~~~

As their lips parted, Percy and Y/n exchanged a knowing look, their hearts in sync with the promises they had just made. The world around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them in that moment, wrapped in the warmth of their feelings for each other.

As the night deepened, they remained seated by the lake, sharing stories, dreams, and laughter. Their conversations flowed effortlessly, each word strengthening the bond that had formed between them. It was as if they had known each other for a lifetime, and yet every moment felt brand new and exciting.

"You know," Percy began, breaking a comfortable silence, "I used to think being a demigod was a curse. But meeting you, Y/n, has shown me that it's also a gift. It brought you into my life."

Y/n smiled softly, her eyes reflecting the moonlight. "I used to feel so out of place before I came here. But you and this camp, it's become my home."

Percy reached for her hand again, his touch reassuring. "No matter what challenges come our way, no matter how tough things get, we'll always have each other."

Y/n nodded, her heart swelling with affection for the green-eyed demigod beside her. "Together, we can face anything."

And so, under the celestial canopy, Percy and Y/n continued to talk, to share, and to build their future together. They watched as shooting stars streaked across the sky, making silent wishes that their love would endure whatever trials destiny had in store.

As the night drew to a close, they stood up, reluctant to leave the tranquil lakeside. Hand in hand, they walked back to the heart of the camp, where their friends awaited and new adventures beckoned. The journey ahead was uncertain, but with each other, they felt invincible.

And as the first rays of dawn broke through the horizon, Percy and Y/n knew that their love story was just beginning, a tale of bravery, magic, and a love that would transcend even the boundaries of their mythical world.

[moonblossom7]

(Aged up) Percabeth as your parents headcanons

Genre:fluff/comfort

-reader is adopted

-gender neutral reader

A/N: this is rlly kinda stupid but it's cute I think.

🍼 Toddler years(~1-4)

- Percy is great with kids, obviously, but he's rlly worried that you'd get into something while his back was turned so he's CONSTANTLY watching you. Can't get away with anything.

-stay at home dad Percy is so real, actually

- Annabeth likes reading you bedtime stories, even though she struggles with it

- they're both of the opinion that Disney has gone down hill, but they take you to the cinema every time a new movie comes out.

- Annabeth gets stressed out a lot about whether or not they make you feel like you belong, since she knows how much it sucks to feel alone within your own family, and she thinks it's gotta be even worse since you're adopted (that worry never really went away)

-  Percy made "monster spray" for when you're scared of the dark.

🖍️ Little kid (5-8)

- Annabeth takes you on museum trips a lot. It's important for kids to experience things, and of course she has to pick something the both of you like

- Percy cried like an actual baby when you lost your first tooth. He didn't expect something like that to effect him, but how could it not? You're growing up and it's happening a lot faster than he thought it would.

- loyal customers at your imaginary restaurant. (Yk those play kitchens with the plastic food? Those.)

- very emotional about the little art projects you bring home from school. They can rarely bring themselves to throw any away,so they have a little tote to keep them in when the fridge gets too crowded.

-speaking of school, you are very much THAT kid. The one with the character pen cases and the sparkly folders and notebooks with that Lisa Frank dolphin on them. (I WANTED ONE SO BAD!!) Percy and Annabeth decided you could only have the absolute best stuff.

- around this time they explain the whole gods, monsters, demigods thing. You had already met Grover and Tyson and some of your parents' demigod friends,so you knew some of it, but up till now they'd never fully explained.

🎮big kid (9-12)

-at this point, Percy is officially banned from helping you with homework. He's one of those "math is math, that's still the right answer!" dads, so when you got to the age where you had to learn and use different methods he noped out. Annabeth takes over from that point.

- if you get into sports, obviously they're your biggest fans. They show up to every game, they give your friends a ride home from practice, they probably wear those cringey T-shirts with shit like "soccer mom/dad" printed across the front in mismatched fonts. Percy's probably even an assistant coach. (Bonus for my softball girlies: Annabeth is totally the type to give you cool braids with the team colors weaved in)

- Again Percy cried over you loosing teeth. But this is your last baby tooth! You aren't little at all anymore! (It's even worse for him if you don't believe in the tooth fairy anymore by then)

- alas,the time has come. The last Christmas you believe in Santa. You told them they didn't have to put the elf up that year, that's how they found out. It caught Annabeth totally off guard. She'd tried to be very sneaky and very clever about maintaining the Christmas magic.

- you're having a Minecraft phase rn(everyone does at this point, don't fight it) and Annabeth is THRILLED. she doesn't play many video games, but she does like Minecraft and Animal Crossing,so she was so excited to have that in common with you. She gets especially excited about all the houses you build even though they're really basic at first.

📱Teen (13-19)

-went very all out on your 13th,16th, and 18th birthday. So much food, and confetti and probably invited all of their friends on top of everyone you invited. (For my summer birthday friends: paid for you and your friends to go to the water park for at least one of those,on top of everything else they had planned)

- very chill about your first partner, actually. I know that a lot of parents aren't, but I honestly don't see Percy and Annabeth being the track your phone and shotgun prom pictures type. As long as your partner was respectful and treated you well, they had no reason to be upset.

-coming back to the sports thing, Percy would be upset if you got to be embarrassed by them going to your games and stuff now. It happens for some kids, obviously (and him and Annabeth have gotten a lot more excited and a little obnoxious about everything the better you got), but he'd be upset that he's not cool anymore.

- proms and homecoming dances are such a big deal. They never really went to any school dances, unless you count when they were trying to find Nico and Bianca, so they're super interested in yours. They want you to have a good time, but they definitely might be projecting a little bit.

- On that note, for my long haired friends, Annabeth totally does your hair for you for those events. I personally think most Athena kids are good at doing hair, since weaving is part of Athena's whole thing and like doing complex hairstyles definitely requires that, and  Annabeth would really enjoy that bonding experience.

- Percy originally wanted to be the one to teach you to drive, but you scared him so many times that he couldn't be alone in a car with you for a long time. Everyone makes mistakes while they're learning, and he's usually a brave guy, but it's a million times scarier now that it's you. Maybe he's just worried about you getting hurt.  Maybe he doesn't want to have to pay for any repairs. Could be both.

- your graduation was so emotionally devastating for them. Gods, they're just so damn proud of you. Highschool isn't as easy as some people make it seem,and even if it was, it's still such a big deal. And it was also so bittersweet because you really aren't a kid  anymore, and they're so excited for you to experience the adult world, but they also miss their little baby.

-also,if you go to a school that lets you decorate your cap,I just know they'd want to help. Obviously they'd follow whatever your idea was but I could see y'all being an arts and crafts family, y'know?

- I don't wanna say that Annabeth has earned a reputation that could get you into any colleges without much effort because I don't think she'd let you get away with not trying, but like...if she wasn't like that, you could.

-also, they'd be really chill if you didn't want to go to college,as long as you were doing something safe and that makes you happy. They know that extra school isn't for everyone and they also know there's a lot of jobs that don't need any degree that can make more money than jobs that do (not that money's all that matters, but it's a good motivator.)

A/N(number 2):Lord I love thinking about Percy and Annabeth getting to have a nice normal-ish life. Let me know if u guys have any specific scenarios you wanna see with parental Percabeth,I get such a hit of nostalgia and happiness from this dynamic

[tagthescullion]

Spies, Traitors, and Chocolate Pranks

Fandom(s): Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Rating: T

Summary: Percy Jackson's come back from the Princess Andromeda with the tragic news of Charles Beckendorf's death. A meeting where nothing is solved and fingers are pointed everywhere leaves Travis and Katie upset after snapping at each other.

Words: 3544

AO3 link

“Let's move on," Percy said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy."

Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?"

Travis side-eyed his brother.

After a few years, they’d got used to people trash-talking Luke, and if he was honest, most of the time, it was well-deserved. But whenever talk of a spy or an informant came up, it always ended up with the rest of camp distrusting the Hermes cabin.

What’s more, after Chris’ return, proving Luke wasn’t the only child of Hermes on Kronos’ side, Travis had felt himself doubting his own siblings at times. Second glancing at little movements, or paying extra attention to their complaints.

Percy went on to re-tell his conversation with their older-brother-turned-murderer-titan. It appeared Luke –or Kronos, or whoever he was– used a pendant shaped like a scythe as a communication device.

That both reassured and worried Travis.

On one hand, such a piece of jewellery wouldn’t go amiss in the Hermes cabin. Everybody would know who had that, and would’ve tried to steal it –teasingly or not– on at least one occasion.

On the other hand, he was sure he’d seen a pendant like that at some point. He didn’t remember when, or who owned it.

No, he told himself, shaking his head. We must all be thinking the same. Nobody saw shit, but now that it’s mentioned we’re sure we have.

Silena chose that moment to redouble her sobbing.

As Annabeth ran to comfort her, Travis couldn’t help but feel a stab or irritation.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care. Quite the contrary. He adored Beckendorf; he was a good guy, always down for a prank, he took things lightly, he was quick to offer a helping hand or optimistic words, and slow to lose his temper.

But lately, Travis had realised he’d lost the ability to process grief with tears or screaming or a general morose attitude. Every time they heard of a new demigod dying, or going to the other side, or leaving to never return… he just, well, he moved on.

It was awful. He felt awful. But he hurt so much, he just couldn’t care openly anymore.

He saw Connor raise a hand self-consciously.

“We've suspected there might be a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke—like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well.”

Perhaps unconsciously, or perhaps because she was their leader, Connor’s eyes turned towards Annabeth.

Travis sent him a warning look, the last thing they needed was people thinking they were pointing fingers at people to avoid scrutiny themselves.

Too late, though. The damage was done.

Far from looking away silently, Connor added a quick, “I mean, it could be anybody.”

Annabeth threw both Connor and Travis a murderous glare.

Katie Gardner, who’s been silent so far, and who clearly thought a lot higher of Annabeth than of the Stolls, scoffed.

“Yes,” she huffed. “Like one of Luke’s siblings.”

That made Travis snort.

“Oh, here we go again,” he spat. He was so tired of the same shit every time the councilors met. “Sure, we’re the spies. That’s what we’ve been doing since moment number one, betraying all of you.”

“Can we be sure you haven’t?” Katie argued back.

Travis wasn’t even sure why she was suddenly so against them.

“What evidence do you have that we have so much as spoken to him?” Connor replied angrily.

Travis put a hand on his arm to calm him down.

They had, of course, seen Luke after he’d left camp. More than once, in fact. Always initiated by him, and not since he’d been possessed by Kronos. But giving the rest of the campers ammo against them wouldn’t solve the issue.

“What’s your problem, anyway?” Travis asked Katie. “Why attack us like that?”

“Why’s Connor suspicious of Annabeth?” Katie demanded.

“He’s not,” Travis said. “He looked at her because she’s the one who always has the answers!”

“Unlike the two of you who can’t help instigating pranks and trouble even now, with everything that’s going on.” She’d crossed her arms and gave him a disgusted once-over.

“That’s not true!” Travis raised his voice. “When’s the last time we’ve done anything half as immature as a prank in the middle of a war?”

“How about–?”

“Stop!”

Travis jumped.

Silena had punched the table so hard her cup of chocolate had spilt everywhere.

“Charlie's dead and…” Her voice caught. “And you're all arguing like little kids!”

She started sobbing again.

As expected, they didn’t solve anything in that meeting. Travis wasn’t even sure what they spoke about after his fight with Katie. His blood was boiling with all-consuming anger.

Who the hell did she think she was to accuse them like that?

It really wasn’t the first time the rest of camp had, nor did Travis think it would be the last until they’d caught the spy, but for whatever reason this time it hurt more.

They were friends. Katie and Travis had been on good terms from the moment he and Connor had arrived at camp, and they’d become closer as the years passed.

Her suspecting him like that made him want to punch a wall.

“You look upset,” Connor pointed out as they reached Cabin Eleven.

“Leave it,” Travis said.

Connor raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He took a few steps towards his bed and dropped into it, face against the pillow.

Travis thought it was a valid choice, but he was too tense to lay down and try to relax.

Instead he got a sweatshirt and walked back out into the common area.

A few cabins away, the on-going battle between Ares and Apollo campers could be seen and heard.

Travis scoffed. And Silena had thought his argument was petty and stupid. Why didn’t she shut up and go convince her fucking bestie to call an armistice with Michael Yew, huh?

He shook his head and kept walking.

He thought about going into the forest, to that twisty bit of the creek Luke had shown him ages ago. But no, it would be a reminder of his foolish older brother. And he’d have to cross Zeus’ fist, which he still tried to avoid.

He settled for the beach.

The tide had gone up a bit, and the part where the sand was still dry was narrow. There was nobody to talk to him, just the sound of waves and the feeling of the sea breeze.

He took off his trainers and socks, laid back next to a low dune, threw an arm over his eyes and tried to focus on his senses rather than his mind.

The sand felt cool and grainy between his toes, but the sun hit over his legs, balancing the temperature well.

He tried to take deep breaths, concentrating on the breeze’s salty smell.

He managed to calm down after a while, back into his state of apathy.

He felt the sun move in the sky, disappearing behind the dune he was using as a pillow.

The noise of feet on the sand snapped him out of his reverie.

He both heard and felt someone sit next to him.

“I’m sorry.”

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

Katie went back to her cabin in a foul mood.

She’d been around the strawberry fields after the councilors meeting, trying to burn her angry energy by helping Pollux keep the plants healthy.

She hadn’t meant to be bitchy, but she’d been so stressed lately. And Travis and Connor didn’t help by often being pains in the ass.

She was sure they understood the seriousness of the situation camp was in, so why couldn’t they act accordingly?

Their pranks used to entertain her, but ever since last summer they’d been so intent on her cabin! The last straw had been around Easter.

Demeter’s cabin had a roof where grass grew between the tiles. Soft, full grass. It looked divine when the sun hit in the morning. It gave it a Mediterranean, natural style that made Katie think of travel magazine photos of the south of Italy

Travis –for while Connor took half the blame, she knew it was Travis who wanted to irritate her in particular– had set an army of chocolate Easter bunnies all over her roof!

Being chocolate, and the weather having been way too warm for March –global warming was another thing that blinded her with rage, but that she couldn’t blame on the Stolls–, the bunnies melted faster than Katie and her cabin had managed to take them off the roof.

It resulted in chaos. A chocolatey mess it had taken ages to clean up. It became full of bugs, and Katie hated cockroaches.

Chiron had made the Stolls and a few volunteers from the Hermes cabin help, but that had ended in even more arguments, and Chris Rodríguez having to physically restrain Katie so she wouldn’t punch Travis Stoll’s stupid face.

Katie took a deep breath and tried to relax back into the sofa she was sitting on.

She tried to remember that while the war was tough on all of camp, the Stolls were also dealing with their older brother –Katie knew better than many how much Travis and Connor had idolised Luke– being their biggest enemy.

Well, to be fair to Luke –which Katie didn’t particularly care to be–, it was Kronos who was trying to kill them all. But Kronos was using Luke’s body –that was messed up even by mythological standards– to lead his army.

Either way, at least her cabin didn’t have any traitors. Or so she thought. Or so she hoped.

Screw it all. She’d been tactless, hadn’t she?

No matter what he did, Katie couldn’t stay mad at Travis for too long. And this time, it had been her who’d been out of line.

Groaning, she got up from the couch.

“Where are you going?” Miranda asked, broom in hand, trying to make their cabin presentable for inspection.

“To go find Travis Stoll, as always,” Julieta chimed from a corner, where she was playing on her iPod. She took her eyes off the screen for a second and added, “Charlie from Athena saw him ‘storm angrily’ towards the bitch.”

Miranda snorted. “Juli, it’s towards the beach, hopefully.”

Julieta frowned. “That’s what I said.”

“Not quite.”

“Well, those sound the same to me.”

Katie left them arguing the anomalies of English pronunciation, and left to find Travis.

As she walked down towards the ocean, she thought about what to say.

‘Sorry your murderous brother makes your cabin suspicious’?

She huffed. She wasn’t good at planning. She’d decide what to say when she found him.

She walked the wooden planks that formed a sort of sidewalk from one side of the beach to the other, and finally found Travis under the shadow of a dune.

He was lying there, breathing evenly, making Katie wonder if it wouldn’t be better to just leave him be.

But he wasn’t peaceful. Katie had known him for years, she could see the signs of distress.

He had an arm over his face, and he hadn’t even thrown a hoodie under his head. His hair was all over the sand, which was probably way too itchy to be comfortable.

She got off the wooden sidewalk and dropped ungracefully next to him.

He was startled by the noise, but he didn’t change his position.

“I’m sorry,” Katie said.

Travis took several seconds moving his arm from his face, then sat up without looking at her, hugging his legs with his arms.

“I shouldn’t have said what I said,” she continued. “Everybody at camp knows you two are loyal to us, to the gods.”

Travis ran a hand through his hair, probably trying to get some of the sand in it to fall away.

“But that’s not true, is it?” He huffed. “People suspect us all the time. I can see it when they look at us. They don’t want us near.”

“Travis.” She put a hand on his arm. “That’s not true at all.”

He finally turned towards her.

His eyes were glazed with a façade of emptiness she didn’t believe one bit.

“People don’t think you’re more likely to betray us than anybody else,” she argued. “I mean, come on! Look at this place! Clarisse and her cabin –our strongest fighters– won’t take part in the war over petty pride. Apollo’s kids are in a high-and-mighty phase, thinking they’re owed everything and more. Silena’s been getting worse and worse, and Beckendorf’s death will only make everything harder on her and her siblings. Nobody has time to wonder who they trust and who they don’t. We’re all breaking apart.”

“Percy shouldn’t have said anything,” Travis muttered. “You’re right, we’re barely functional as it is. And we’ve no chance of catching whoever the spy is. They won’t be stupid enough to carry around a scythe necklace now, will they? It was pointless to scare us like that.”

Katie shrugged. “I suppose we should be slightly more careful about what we say and where.” She shook her head. “I hate keeping stuff from my siblings, but maybe it’s better to keep sensitive information to councilors alone.”

Travis started to nod then made a face. “Unless… Unless it’s one of us. A councilor, I mean.”

“No, that can’t be,” she dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. “We all know each other, it’s…”

But then again, some of the stuff they’d said in meetings lately… they’d agreed not to tell the rest of the campers because it might discourage them. Had they talked about Percy and Beckendorf’s mission? Could it possibly be one of the councilors who was passing information to Kronos?

She felt a warm hand over her own.

She looked up to see Travis’ sympathetic expression.

“I didn’t want to upset you,” he said. “I’m talking shit. Of course it’s not one of the councilors.”

Katie nodded. More to let him know it was okay than out of genuine belief.

Travis took a deep breath. He glanced at her, then turned back to the sea.

“Why were you–” He hesitated for a second. “Why did you point us out like that, at the meeting?”

Katie felt her cheeks grow warm with shame. She really shouldn’t have done that. But, she tried to remind herself, if she had, it was only because she’d been so exasperated.

Instead of trying to explain herself, she asked, “Why do you keep pranking my cabin?”

“We haven’t pranked anybody in ages,” he argued.

“Three days ago, you unleashed a squadron of paper planes as we were passing by,” she said.

“That wasn’t a prank,” he defended himself. “I was checking your reflexes. You can’t walk around without so much as looking around.”

She scoffed. “And a couple of days before you turned all our clothes pink!”

“No, no, that was an honest mistake,” he raised his hands, palms out. “Chiron shouldn’t make us deal with laundry duties with everything that’s going on.”

“And–” She waved her hands, trying to find words. “You’re always trying to bait us. So we’ll argue. It’s so stupid, I don’t understand why you’re doing all this.”

“At most I’ve been sarcastic when you were around,” Travis said, raising his voice, not a lot but enough to be noticeable. “And it’s not even your whole cabin, it’s you. Making you angry seems to be the only way to exchange half a word with you these days.”

“What do you mean?” Katie was confused.

Travis and her had always been close. There was a balance between them: she told him when he’d gone too far with a joke, and he helped her loosen up whenever she  got overwhelmed with life. They were friends. She knew they hadn’t been able to talk a lot the past few weeks, but it hadn’t been her fault.

“It’s you who’s been all closed up,” she told him. “As if… I don’t know, as if being an asshole would make everything hurt less.”

He frowned. “That’s not it.”

“Isn’t it?” She huffed. She rolled her eyes. “Listen, I’m sorry it was Luke who fucked up. I’m sorry you feel people don’t trust you and your siblings. I’m sorry our friends keep leaving and not coming back! But it won’t help you feel better to push people away. To irritate everyone until they don’t want to be around you. It’ll only make you more miserable.”

Travis bit his lower lip. His frown had eased only a bit. He looked as if he had trouble finding words to express what he felt.

That she couldn’t blame him for.

“I feel,” he began, turning his head back to the sea. “As if I simply don’t have the energy to care anymore.” He sighed. “All the kids in my cabin, their feelings are always so… loud. Every time a camper dies or goes missing, they can— they cry and sob and demand justice from the universe and I—I can’t help but feel annoyed at them. ‘It’s not fair,’ they say. Of course it’s not fair. What are they expecting? The gods to give a fuck about us?” He bit his lip again. “And that bitterness. That’s what he felt. What Luke felt when he left. And I’m worried because I wasn’t like this. Gods, I was never like this.”

He swallowed, took a couple of deep breaths.

“I wouldn’t betray our side like he did, though,” he added. Katie didn’t need him to justify himself. She knew him well enough. “Not really because of the gods, they can do a lot better if they expect personal loyalty. But Kronos is worse. And I could never do that to my friends.”

Katie took one of his hands in hers. “That’s because you do care. You always have and always will.”

“I mean, of course I do care, but I can’t…”

He shook his head, at a loss for words.

“You can’t process it?” Katie offered.

He nodded. “Yeah, I guess. It’s there, all those shitty feelings, churning in my chest and I can’t make them go away. I can’t cry them off, or burn them exercising, or…” He groaned. “It’s like they poison me. I want them off me. I want everything to stop! Once and for all, make everything stop! The war to be over, or a monster to cut my head off cleanly. I want it all to go away!”

He looked so young when he said that. Vulnerable. He was young. Hell, they were barely eighteen. But he’d been right to say it was pointless to complain about it being unfair. It was, it was a fact. They shouldn’t be in charge of their younger siblings. They could barely be in charge of themselves.

“For better or for worse,” she said after a pause, squeezing Travis’ hand. “It’ll all be over soon. The prophecy says Percy’s big moment will be when he turns sixteen, right?”

To Katie’s surprise, Travis smiled.

“What could possibly be funny about the world ending because of a boy’s choice?”

He looked at her, “Would you believe me if I told you I’ve no idea when Percy’s birthday is? Here we are, having a literal date for either one of the best or worst days of our lives… and I have no idea when that will be.”

“I—” Katie allowed herself a little smile too. “I was going to ask Annabeth, actually.”

“We’re not very nice friends,” he said. “We’ve known the guy for years.”

“It’s in August.”

“Right,” Travis said. “Very accurate.”

“He doesn’t know our birthdays either, I bet.” Katie rolled her eyes. “Then again, our birthdays don’t mean a hypothetical end of the world.”

“It might not even happen.” Travis shrugged. “We thought Thalia would be the prophecy child and she wasn’t.”

She shook her head. “This time it’s for real. Everything’s too much for this to not be the end. Besides, if it’s not Percy, then who?”

“Nico di Angelo,” Travis offered. “He’s the son of Hades.”

Katie had all but forgotten about that kid. “Where is he? We could use a bit of zombie magic on our side.”

Travis made a noncommittal sound with his throat. “He comes and goes, I suppose. I don’t know about zombie magic, but that kid could play a good hand of cards.”

Katie sighed. “Yes, we’ll beat the Lord of Time with a good hand of cards.”

He pushed her lightly with his shoulder. “You forget he’s possessing my brother. Luke could never say no to a card game. His fatal flaw if he ever had one: he could never resist a challenge.”

Travis’ face had turned sad again.

“Come on,” Katie said, standing up. “It’s getting cold here. Let’s go get something to eat.”

Travis stood up without letting go of her hand.

“Thank you,” he said, and Katie could hear the honesty in his voice. “For coming after me.”

She hugged him hard.

“Always,” she promised. “I can’t let you mope on your own like a miserable emo, it’s just too sad.”

Katie heard Travis chuckle and felt him squeeze her tighter.

It wasn’t all right, she knew, but it would. It would get better.

[13-beutelteufel]

Paradise (tlod)- Battle of the demigods - Part I

Paradise - The Lady of Darkness (tlod) is a connected story. The correct order is in the masterlist in my pinned post

Belli's lungs were burning. Maybe it was just the fear that turned the cold night air into fire. She tried to suck more of this air into her lungs. To get more oxygen in. To keep running. But the cold air seemed to set her insides on fire. To corrode it. It hurt. It hurt terribly. And yet she kept running. On and on and on. Even though the panicked sprint had turned into a stumble. Even though she could collapse at any moment. They had reached a denser part of the forest and every stick, every root almost brought Belli down. Every tree almost broke her hand if she accidentally hit one of the trunks. Every low-hanging branch almost knocked her out. They had to slow down in the dense forest, which made it possible for Jana and Amadeus to catch up with them. Tired, they all staggered through the forest until the dense trees slowly gave way to grass and the darkness no longer swallowed everything up. Tall grass grew between the scattered trees, giving Belli comfort. Rainbow stopped under a sparse bush. The dragon carefully laid Hermes next to him in the soft greenery. He was still not awake. Belli felt the adrenaline slowly giving way to a guilty conscience. He had protected her because she was too incapable to do it herself and had paid for it. Even if his condition didn't seem life-threatening. In any case, no one seemed worried about him. For a while, they all just looked at each other in silence, out of breath. Too tired to say anything. Too worried that their voices could be heard. "Where's Sea?" Jana finally asked. It was the first words she had said since the start of their endeavour. "I hope nothing's happened to her." grumbled Amadeus. "I'm outraged!" They all turned round. Sea emerged from between the grass. Breathing heavily too, but still fit enough to shout her opinion into the forest. "What makes you think something's happened to me? Have you no faith in me?" "Not so loud!" hissed the dragon. "Why?" "There were only four women, weren't there? But there are five of them. There was one man missing, green-eyed, dirty blonde hair, quite short. He surprised me earlier, too. He can probably locate people around him. So we shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security just yet." Belli caught herself looking around nervously. The exhaustion that had slowly spread through her gave way to a creeping fear. They were still not safe. Probably wouldn't be for quite a while. They were all too exhausted to teleport. "We're very close to the demigod land, aren't we, Sea?" asked Rainbow. "Hm… yes, that's right." "We could cross the border with you. Then we'd be safe." Belli had already heard about the mighty border of the land of the demigods. No one who was not a demigod themselves or in their company could get through, no matter how powerful they were. It would be their salvation. Sea seemed to think so too. "Follow me, it's not far now." She turned to the left. The dragon picked Hermes up again and they all followed her. The attempt to run failed. They were all too exhausted, but the fear of possible pursuers always drove them to a kind of jog. Belli had no idea what Sea meant by "not far". The grass thinned and gave way to foliage again, but the forest remained light. And there was nothing far and wide that looked like a border. Just a few green bushes. But Sea stopped in front of them. "Done it." she said triumphantly. Belli looked around helplessly. Nothing looked like a protective border. Jana looked similarly helpless. "The border is invisible." Rainbow explained. "Exactly!" Sea added her two cents. "But for those who aren't invited to the party, it ends behind us. Something inside them just stops them from going on or flying, no matter what they do." These words were a relief. Of course they were. They were an assurance that they were safe. But Belli didn't feel safe. Something was urging her to go further. Told her that she had only just made it.

The AI that is supposed to check my translation can't decide what the inverted commas should look like and I don't feel like constantly adjusting them. I hope it's self-explanatory when ' and " mean the same thing and when they don't

Part II:

[outpostsofbabel]

Demigods and Semi-devils, Chapter VII (I)

A great feast had been laid in the dining hall when Duan Zhengchun and his family returned. Apart from the Duan family, Mu Wanqing was the only guest. Servant girls - nearly twenty of them - stood at the edges of the room. Mu Wanqing had never found herself in such a grand setting before. Every dish was one that she had never seen or even heard of. Even so, Duan Zhengchun and his wife treated her as part of the family. In fact, it felt as if two married couples from different generations had gathered to celebrate. The thought made her shiver inside with delight.

Duan Yu, however, noticed that his mother was still behaving coldly towards her husband. She drank no wine and ate no flesh, taking only vegetables for herself. He poured a cup of wine, holding it in both hands as he stood up. “Mother, I offer a toast to you. Congratulations on your reunion with my father, which allows the three of us to enjoy domestic bliss.”

“I don’t drink,” the Sage of the Jade Hollow replied.

Duan Yu poured another cup and caught Mu Wanqing’s eye. “Miss Mu would like to offer you a toast as well,” he said. The girl took the cup and stood up.

The Sage thought it would not do to treat Mu Wanqing too coldly. So she said with a smile: “Young lady, my son is full of mischief and completely beyond parental control. In the future, you must help me keep him in line.”

“If he doesn’t listen to me, I’ll box his ears,” Mu Wanqing replied.

The Sage laughed and glanced sideways at her husband. “That’s the way it should be,” Duan Zhengchun said, smiling as his wife reached out to take the cup from Mu Wanqing. In the candlelight, her skin was bright and clear as jade, except for a blood-red mark on the back of her hand, near her wrist. Seeing that mark, Mu Wanqing startled.

“You... Are you... Could you be Dao Baifeng?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“It’s an odd surname, to be sure,” said the Sage, smiling. “How did you know it?”

“So you...you are Dao Baifeng?” Mu Wanqing asked again. “You’re a woman of Baiyi clan, and you used to wield a soft whip, right?”

Although the Sage saw Mu Wanqing was clearly agitated, she did not suspect anything yet. “Yu’er has been good to you. It seems he even told you my family name. Well, your husband is half a Baiyi, you know. It’s no wonder he’s so wild.”

“So you really are Dao Baifeng?” Mu Wanqing persisted.

“Of course!” the Sage replied.

On hearing that, Mu Wanqing cried out: “A master’s love is profound, and a master’s orders hard to disobey!” With a wave of her right hand, she sent two poison arrows winging towards the woman.

The four had been chatting so comfortably throughout dinner, as intimately as family. Who would have expected Mu Wanqing to suddenly attack? Dao Baifeng’s skills were roughly at the same level as Mu Wanqing. But the two were sitting so near each other, and the attack had been so sudden, that she could not defend herself. In other words, there was no way the arrows could have missed. Duan Zhengchun, who was sitting behind Mu Wanqing, cried out and stabbed at the girl with a finger. Even so, he could not save his wife.

Duan Yu had seen Mu Wanqing kill people with those arrows as swiftly as speaking. The poison on the tips was very potent, and could cause blood to coagulate in a person’s veins. The moment Mu Wanqing had swirled her sleeves, Duan Yu had known something was wrong. Although he was standing beside his mother, he had no way of deflecting the attack since he knew nothing of the martial arts. Instead, he slid into his Light Steps Over the Waves technique, sliding in front of his mother. The two arrows buried themselves in his chest with little thuds. At the same moment, Mu Wanqing felt a numbness spreading out from her back. She fell forward onto the table, unable to move.

Duan Zhengchun desperately darted forward, sealing eight acupoints around the area where Duan Yu had been hit so that the poison in his bloodstream would not reach his heart. Then with a flip of his hand, he dislocated Mu Wanqing’s right arm with a crack. Now that she was unable to fire off more arrows, he unsealed her acupoints and said with force: “Get the antidote!”

“I...I only wanted to kill Dao Baifeng, not harm my husband,” Mu Wanqing said in a trembling voice. Gritting her teeth against the pain in her arm, she took out two bottles of antidote from inside her tunic. “Make him swallow the red ones, and spread the white one his wounds. Hurry! We cannot save him if we are too slow.”

Dao Baifeng saw the girl’s concern for Duan Yu was sincere, and had roughly guessed at the cause. She snatched the bottles of antidote, putting the two red pills in her son’s mouth. She gently plucked the arrows from his wounds, spreading the white powder on them. “Thank heaven,” Mu Wanqing said. “He...he will come to no harm. If he did, I’d...”

What the panicky three did not know was that Duan Yu had eaten that king of all venomous creatures, the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog. He was immune to all poisons, and the poison on Mu Wanqing’s arrows would not have bothered him in the least, even if he had not taken the antidote. However, the arrow wounds in his chest hurt. Duan Yu had seen many times how those who had been hit with her poison arrows had died, and believed that he was soon to find himself among them. In his fear and agitation, he fainted in his mother’s lap.

[demigodforfend]

Twilight of the Demigods: Forfend Edition - Session 16

Kagoshi stepped in front of the party and spread his hands. "Alright. The easiest way to go about this is to split up. I really don't want to go to the temple with Chimney and, Kairi, you already know what's going on with me. So you two go there. And I'll go to the library."

He spun on his heel and tromped toward the Grand Library.

Melzaryn lit up. "Study bros!" He rushed after Kagoshi.

Kagoshi bristled, but settled himself down and allowed Melzaryn to stay at his side.

Forfend looked down at Kairi.

"To the temple," she shrugged.

Forfend nodded.

It watched the city as they walked. The air about Cragwall was intense, nervous. Everyone was on edge after yesterday's events.

In the ruins of the Teleportation Hub, cleanup had only just begun. The area was roped off and guarded. Melancholy workers sifted through the rubble.

The hustle and bustle surrounding it was not diminished by the somber work. If anything, it was intensified. Frantic people went about their daily business with an over-vigilant eye. Tension abounded.

Forfend paused to observe the crowd about the temple. People flooded in but trickled out. Many of them must be seeking council or comfort in this trying time.

They were scared. Of course they were turning to the gods.

Forfend lumbered forward.

The crowd parted around it, too busy to stop and stare but too unnerved to block its way.

The entrance of the massive building was marked by ornately carved pillars. They soared upwards and culminated in a roof of spiraling steeples. Beautiful stained glass cast rainbows across the ground both inside and outside the expansive cathedral.

The enormous oak doors were propped open as wide as they could be. Paladins and heroes of legends Forfend was sure it had never heard were carved straight from the stone wall. A particularly towering paladin framed the entryway, holding his sword and shield aloft.

Forfend strode inside.

Elegant arches lined the length of the massive hall. Bright paintings of angels and other celestial beings covered the walls and ceiling. Winding couatls, open-armed devas, prancing kirins, stoic planetars, and more all watched over the temple's visitors from their carvings and canvasses.

The architects and construction crew had done well cultivating the holy atmosphere. The priests and clerics had done well maintaining it. Divine energy thrummed through the air. Forfend could feel it in its chest, softly warming its core.

Forfend caught itself staring up at the expansive mural across the ceiling. It told the tale of creation, of the Age of the Gods, of the Sundering, and finally of the defeat of the Sunderer. All of it led slowly to a representation of Genesis, the Creator himself.

Genesis's symbol rose into the air, taking up the entirety of the back wall. The top point of the star brushed the ceiling and the arms of it brushed the walls to either side. Gold inlaid the spiraling center and stained glass filled in the gaps between. Otherworldly colors cast themselves far across the floor at the behest of this depiction, touching every corner.

Genesis was where it all began. As such, swirling stone carvings made it appear the entirety of the cathedral was spawned outward from the magic of his symbol. Markings of Genesis were clear in the design of every facet of the building.

Forfend pulled its gaze away from the stunning monument and took in the carvings of every other deity in the pantheon.

They lined the hall, each one marking a large open recess dedicated entirely to their individual worship. The statues varied wildly in composition and style, but each one was immaculately designed and upkept.

Pews and podiums surrounded many of the deities' feet. The seats were crowded in most of the alcoves. The temple was filled with the overlapping chatter of more than a dozen different sermons.

Kairi bumped against Forfend's side.

It looked down to see her pressing fingers to her temples and squinting against what it assumed to be the assaulting colors of a thousand different emotions. Forfend couldn't imagine what it might be like for her to see so much information all the time, but it certainly didn't look pleasant at the moment.

It gently tugged her closer against it.

"Lybearon's statue is there. If there are any priests or clerics who could understand Kagoshi's situation, it would be followers of the Redeemer," Forfend suggested.

Kairi followed where it was pointing.

A statue of solid white marble knelt, a soft smile on his face as he reached down to welcome any who would approach him into his arms. The majority of the depiction's height was in its gracefully spread wings, stretching skyward.

Lybearon was beloved because of his kindness, acceptance, and forgiveness. There would be no better hand to place Kagoshi's troubles in. Forfend was certain of that, despite its unfamiliarity with the post-Sundering deity.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," Kairi mumbled. "I'll try to figure out what to say."

Forfend nodded solemnly. "Nothing about Kagoshi is ever easy."

"That too. But mostly, I just mean because it's hard to think with all the people around." Kairi covered her eyes.

Forfend spotted the statue of Somnum. The great satyr leaned on his shepherd's crook as he drifted off to sleep. It guided Kairi over to his designated area.

Like Lybearon, the god of rest was also born after the Sundering. Forfend was not familiar with him, but it knew his zone was sure to be a safe, quiet space.

Comfortable chairs lined the area. Several people were leaned back or curled up in them, sleeping soundly. The walls of the alcove seemed to be designed to muffle sound. The entire space felt protected from the noise happening only a few feet from it.

Kairi managed to open her eyes properly. She still kept a hand pressed to the the side of her head, but at least she seemed less out of it.

A priest dressed in elaborate but comfortable vestments hobbled toward them on his cane. He had gray skin, gray fur, fuzzy pointed ears, and a broad nose that almost looked animalistic.

Forfend didn't recognize his race, though it supposed that didn't matter much. It was quite certain the priest wouldn't recognize its race either.

The priest leaned heavily on the top of his cane and whispered, "Hello, how may I help you? Or do you only need a quiet place to rest?"

Forfend lowered its voice as much as it could out of respect. "We only needed a quieter space."

It tried not to cringe outwardly at its loudness. It couldn't drop far below a typical conversational volume.

At least it had made the attempt.

The priest nodded kindly and thankfully did not address how comparatively loud Forfend's mechanical baritone was. "I understand. Please, make yourselves at home and stay for as long as you would like." He motioned off to the side where a large plush couch sat currently unoccupied.

"Thank you." Forfend ducked its head politely.

The priest turned and ambled slowly around the alcove, observing his sleeping congregation like a shepherd with his sheep.

Kairi moved to take the seat they'd been offered.

Forfend followed. It pressed carefully on the cushions several times before it determined it was safe to sit down.

The couch didn't even creak as Forfend's bulk sank straight into it. Nothing so soft had ever surrounded it before. It nearly wondered if even it could sleep here.

Kairi leaned back and closed her eyes.

After a short break, she sat forward again. "Alright, I think I'm as good as I'm going to get. Let's go see Lybearon before the migraine gets really nasty again."

Forfend nodded. It struggled to free itself from the plush couch, but eventually it found its footing again.

Kairi led the way with Forfend sticking close against her back.

The crowd parted around Forfend, inadvertantly giving Kairi a wide berth as well.

A pair of guards stepped in front of them.

These particular guards wore pale gray, blue, and white rather than the typical browns and blacks and dark grays of military armor. They were assigned specifically to work here in the temple and they looked rather nervous.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," one began, "but what is your business here? We just need to be sure."

Forfend knelt to make itself less threatening and took stock of the symbol of Cassis emblazoned on a chain around the guard's neck.

The guard looked into Forfend's face. His back went rigid as his face fell slack. He clicked his jaw shut.

"Like everyone else here, we are seeking council and to worship the gods. Hoping to get answers from them," it said simply.

"I see," the guard swallowed. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Forfend lit its chest orange.

"Just remain careful." He nodded at the crowd flowing around them. "They seem wary of you."

"Most people are at first," Forfend hummed. "They will get over that in time. I assure you, I am quite friendly."

The guard let a slight smile touch his lips. "I'm glad to hear that. Nonetheless, please remain vigilant." He and his partner stepped aside to let Forfend and Kairi pass.

"I will," it promised as it spurred itself into motion again to keep pace with Kairi. "Thank you."

Kairi ducked straight into Lybearon's space.

The area wasn't as crowded as Forfend would've guessed. Only a small handful of people were about. Most of them were at the foot of the statue, lost in prayer or begging forgiveness for wrongdoings.

A teifling of hulking muscle chatted seriously with one of the worshippers. One of his curling horns was broken and sinister tattoos covered every inch not already marred by numerous, deep, overlapping scars.

It took Forfend a moment to realize he was the cleric here. His white vestments were at odds with his dark appearance.

Forfend hummed to itself. What an excellent representation of redemption he was. This was exactly the type of cleric it should've expected to see under Lybearon's wings.

The teifling caught sight of the pair and placed a comforting hand on the shoulder of the man he was speaking with. He nodded, pat the man's shoulder, and politely took his leave to greet the new arrivals.

"Greetings, friends," the teifling cleric said in a rough, gravelly voice. "How may I assist you? Do you wish to seek redemption under the Redeemer's gaze? Are you here to confess sins?"

Kairi swayed back and forth, her hands latched behind her back. "Um, it's a bit complicated. It's not about us. It's about a friend of ours. He's dealing with something that's..." Kairi trailed off and creased her brow as she considered her phrasing. "Not letting him make good decisions," she finally settled.

The cleric nodded grimly.

"We're trying to figure out how to help him," Kairi said. "He's got some really uncontrollable rage issues. Do you know of anything we could do or use to help? Anything at all? A place we could go even?"

The cleric rested his chin on his hand and hummed.

Kairi leaned against Forfend. "I'm sorry if I'm a little incoherent. I have a splitting headache."

"It's quite alright," the cleric assured. "Would you like a more private place to discuss this?"

"Yes, please," Kairi immediately accepted.

He looked up at Forfend. "Would you like to come with her?"

"I would," it responded.

He nodded once and turned. "Please, follow me." He led them towards the back of the alcove.

He paused, tapping another priest on the shoulder. "Please, assist them," he requested, motioning to the other people milling about the area. "I'm taking these two for a more private talk."

"Of course." The priest immediately shuffled off to fulfill the order.

The teifling cleric escorted Kairi and Forfend into an enclosed room tucked at the back corner of Lybearon's zone.

The tiny office was almost completely bereft of decoration. It was plain, simple, but not necessarily discomforting.

"So, tell me about this friend of yours," the cleric nudged as he sat down behind his small desk.

Forfend remained standing, tucking itself into the corner to leave room for its companion.

Kairi took the guest chair and folded her hands on the table. She seemed to be considering her words for a long moment.

The cleric suddenly straightened his shoulders. "Oh, forgive my impoliteness. My name is Faith. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Forfend," it ducked its head politely.

"Kairi Camilla," she almost mumbled, much more lost in other thoughts.

Faith nodded to them both. "Tell me about this friend you speak of?"

"His name is Kagoshi," Kairi began. "He's got a few small issues." She stopped herself immediately and sighed. "I say that, but they're not small. They're very big issues."

She twiddled her fingers and looked Faith in the face. "There are times when he gets angry. Extremely angry. When that happens, he's not himself anymore. Something else takes over. Things don't go well for anyone when that happens."

"He has intense anger," Faith nodded sagely. "The way you describe it is interesting. Would you say his rage is of the mundane variety or the magical variety?"

"Definitely magic," Kairi answered.

"I see. When it comes to the magical variety, there are a number of things that may cause it," Faith informed. "For example, the most common is a curse. Perhaps a curse of unrelenting rage. I've encountered a few in my time. Thankfully, in my devotion to Lybearon, I am blessed with some ability to remove them."

Forfend hummed. It would be nice if Kagoshi's troubles were only a curse, but that was doubtful.

"Another option, and a more terrifying one, is possession," Faith continued. "Based on your description, that seems more likely."

He paused to watch their reactions and seemed perplexed when neither of them showed surprise or additional concern.

"Whatever the case, if there is an outside influence causing his rage, we would need to do a full exorcism. The difficulty of that will depend on the power of the entity." He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

After a brief moment, he sat forward again. "The third possibility, as strange as this may sound, could be a hard-inserted arcane influence. Something given to him at birth. In that case, there would be nothing we could do but help him work around it. You know him better than I. Of the three, which do you think seems most likely?"

Forfend's best guess was a sordid combination of the second and third.

"It definitely has something to do with his past," Kairi said, "but that's not all of it. He's got another... situation happening too. A newer one. I think it's best I don't share everything."

Faith hummed. "I understand. Perhaps, if you would like, I could check up on him personally and see what I could gather? Maybe find a solution? Or suggest one, at the very least?"

"Yes," Kairi accepted. "I'll ask him about it for sure. He'll have to finish the things he needed to do first though."

"Feel free to bring him to me whenever you feel you would like me to take a look," Faith offered generously. "I will be here and waiting." He pulled a piece of parchment from his desk and wrote something in large, sweeping letters. "If I'm not here, you may find me at this address." He gave the paper to Kairi.

"Thank you," Forfend and Kairi said at the same time.

"It is my pleasure. Is there anything else you needed?"

"I think that was everything," Kairi shook her head.

Faith stood. "Then please allow me to escort you back out to the main floor."

Kairi got up, pushed her chair in, and followed him back out into the cathedral proper.

Forfend was right on her heels and edging ever closer as they were engulfed by the crowd once again.

Kairi pressed her hands to her head and tucked herself tight against its bulk.

"I would like to make a stop," Forfend requested.

"As long as I don't have to try to think in here anymore, that's fine with me," Kairi agreed.

"Thank you," it responded earnestly and scanned the expansive hall.

Forfend quickly spotted what it was looking for: a statue of solid iron gleaming in the multicolored light.

It appraised the visage of Fornax with a critical eye as it drew closer.

All things considered, the artists had very nearly captured his exact likeness.

The muscle definition was overzealous, but otherwise the proportions were stunningly on par. Though Forfend was most impressed by how well Fornax's forever stern, stoic expression had been mimicked. It could've been staring into the face of the god himself and it would not have known the difference.

Obsidian lined the seams were the plates of iron met and a fire burned in the statue's center, billowing smoke and flame from the forge in Fornax's abdomen. A clever facsimile.

The statue held aloft a forge hammer as though about to bring it crashing down on the anvil in front of him.

Forfend nodded in approval. Fornax was always working. It was only right he be depicted as such.

Forfend strode past the statue into the worship zone.

There were a handful of people praying at the feet of the statue, but most were worshipping in what Forfend considered to be the most effective way: working.

This alcove did not have chairs or pews. Instead, it was one huge workstation. A series of forges and equipment lined the wall. There was a backroom tucked off to the side where metal was stored until ready for use by the congregation.

Most of the people here were forging or planning or refining one project or another. The heat in the air and the smell of hot metal lifted Forfend's spirits to the ceiling and beyond. It wished Fletch could see this.

Forfend watched the congregation going about their craft. Some were clearly new and trying out simple projects to learn. Some had come for inspiration, bringing their home projects in with them. Others were clearly skilled and focused heavily on what they were doing.

One of the latter seemed to be particularly zeroed in on his task. His hammer tinged rhythmically away at the metal in front of him.

Forfend tilted its head as it got caught up watching him.

He was an incredibly broad-shouldered dwarf. Thick ropes of muscle coiled tight in his arms and cascaded down his back. His long, beautifully braided beard matched his long, beautifully braided hair and both were as white as the fires at the heart of his forge.

Forfend watched him bring his hammer down over and over and over again, striking red-hot metal into careful form. The instrument he wielded was elegant, but powerful. Every facet of the hammer was designed to add to both its beauty and functionality.

Forfend realized the tool was the dwarf's holy symbol before it realized he was wearing vestments. Another cleric of Fornax, just like itself.

Forfend's chest glowed bright.

The dwarf cleric returned the hammer to his belt and lifted the scorching metal with his bare hands. Despite this, he suffered no burns as he quenched the blade.

He placed it gently down by a set of completed swords that all looked to be perfectly uniform. It recognized the hilts as the very same ones the temple guards had been carrying on their belts.

Protecting the temple with his craft. A valiant cause.

The dwarf dusted his hands off on his work apron and grabbed the fresh sword. He pressed it to the grindstone and began honing the edge.

Forfend started to approach him when it noticed the eyes on it.

Several of the worshippers had stopped to stare.

Forfend waved at them.

"Hi," one of them blurted. He lifted his hand in a weak wave.

"Hello," Forfend greeted in turn.

"What, uh, what are you... doing here?" the stranger stuttered.

"Well," Forfend hummed, "worshipping was the plan. Perhaps forging something."

"Oh," the man bobbed his head in an over-enthusiastic nod. "Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool. Um, metal's back there if you need to use some. And, uh, donations are appreciated too if you can supply them. We have an offering plate there."

He pointed to an anvil cracked nearly in half by overuse. It had been reworked slightly and repurposed to function as a bowl. Coins filled it.

Forfend nodded and dropped ten gold pieces into the offering plate.

To its surprise, Kairi followed suit.

Forfend looked down at her. "Kairi, you purchased a longsword recently, did you not?"

"A rapier, but yes." Kairi touched the hilt of the slender weapon.

"Would you like it improved?"

Kairi blinked in surprise. "Oh, yes, please. Thank you." She drew the blade and offered it up.

Forfend took it gently and found an unoccupied work station.

The moment it touched the furnace, the obsidian linings in the statue of Fornax lit up brilliant orange. The light traced down through obsidian lines in the floor until it disappeared beneath the workstation.

Suddenly, the forge burst to life.

Fire crackled as Forfend marveled at the magical ingenuity. The orange light receded, but the flames remained.

Forfend hummed, refocusing on the job at hand. It spun the rapier in its grasp.

Gilthur had done an excellent job, but there were still places to improve. The base could be reinforced and the edge sharpened. The piercing tip could be more severely tapered.

A sensation Forfend recognized from working in Gilthur's forge overtook it.

It was lifted from its body, away from its awareness of its surroundings, and entrenched in the work it now knew precisely how to do.

Smoke wafted from its back and sparks spurted into the air. They drifted harmlessly around the alcove.

Forfend's hands moved faster than it could keep up with, flowing from one task to the next without pause.

It didn't need to watch to know what it was doing. It didn't need to try. Everything fell seamlessly into place.

In what could've been seconds or hours, the work was nearly done.

Forfend's hammer struck the heated metal, throwing more sparks into the air. These joined the ones drifting from its back and swirled across the workstations.

One last strike sent white light surging across the blade.

Forfend traced its fingers across the hilt, leaving subtle geometric etchings in its wake. Every one was a prayer to Fornax.

It sank back into its awareness with much more grace than the last time. Steam rushed as it inspected its work.

Divine magic glimmered in the grooves of the hilt and along the newly sharpened tip.

This was now a holy weapon capable of wielding radiance as a blade against evil.

Forfend gently tapped it and the light faded out for the moment.

Forfend turned slowly and placed the rapier back in Kairi's hands.

The statue of Fornax, an inert representation, seemed to watch Forfend from the corner of its eye. A sheen passed across the visage's pupil and disappeared.

Fornax had seen, had blessed.

Forfend's chest lit up.

It only then noticed the crowd.

Everyone in the forge had stopped. Most of them knelt in prayer. Even the hustle and bustle outside the alcove had halted to view the spectacle Forfend had inadvertently created.

Around it, the floating sparks slowly swirled and burnt out one by one.

With the last spark, the dumbstruck atmosphere finally began to ebb.

The cleric of Fornax approached reverently. "Is this an omen?"

Forfend hummed. "I am not sure," it answered honestly. "I do not decide when I am an omen."

The cleric nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you are certainly a sign we're doing something right."

The sentiment was extremely similar to the one Gilthur had expressed.

"Bramdren Steelpast," the cleric introduced himself.

"Forfend," it returned the gesture.

Bramdren bowed.

Forfend took a half-step back, startled. "That is not necessary."

"I'm glad to make your acquaintance, Forfend."

Forfend offered its hand to shake instead.

Bramdren accepted, shaking once firmly.

"It is nice to meet you," Forfend rumbled.

"Likewise," Bramdren replied.

He was stoic, but there was an underlying discomfort in his features. He was nervous about how to handle this situation. Forfend wasn't sure how to put his mind at ease.

"What brings you here, Forfend?" he asked.

Forfend loosened its posture, the weight of the world dragging its shoulders down a bit. "Less pleasant business than I would like."

Bramdren spread his arms, offering space to explain.

Steam hissed in Forfend's chest. "Strictly speaking, I am here because a friend of mine was wrongly accused of a crime. But in my travels, Fornax has alerted me to many happenings in the world I had been unaware of. He has let me know that it is time to get back to work."

"Hm, I see." Bramdren stroked his beard. "Well, you have certainly inspired all of us. If there's anything you need, let us know."

Forfend nodded. "I will. In the meantime, may I see that hammer you were using?"

"Please." He tugged it from his belt so quickly it got snagged. He shifted, tugged again, and passed the hammer up.

Forfend turned the instrument over in its hands. It was small in Forfend's oversized grip, but it looked even more gorgeously crafted up close.

The primary shape of the hammer mirrored the symbol of Fornax carved into Forfend's face almost exactly. The intricacies in the etchings added to the effect.

Forfend gently handed the tool back to its owner. "It is a beautiful piece," it complimented sincerely.

"Thank you. I forged it myself in a moment of inspiration. Fitting that another one would seek it out." Bramdren bowed again. "I thank you for gracing us with your presence."

"Please." Forfend's chest bloomed red. "I am just a standard blacksmith."

Bramdren chuckled and tugged at his beard. "Then the rest of us have much catching up to do."

The majority of the praying crowd suddenly perked up and scrambled back to their workstations, returning to their forging with renewed vigor.

Forfend watched them for a moment. It figured they'd been struck by inspiration the same way Gilthur had. They would create freely and easily for hours if they so wished.

Forfend basked in the glow of fervent smiths and the heat of the forges. Relaxing warmth spread from its center to the tips of its extremities.

Unfortunately, it had other things that needed tending to. It couldn't stay to enjoy this forever.

"As much as I would like to spend the rest of the day here, we should reconvene with Melzaryn and Kagoshi," Forfend hummed.

Kairi nodded. "It would be nice to be somewhere a little less crowded.

Forfend knelt in front of Bramdren. "Thank you for allowing me to smith in your church. I hope to return soon."

Bramdren bowed. "I look forward to it."

Forfend bundled Kairi in close to its side and escorted her out of the cathedral.

The plaza outside was still busy, but less tightly packed. It was much easier to freely move.

Kairi didn't seem any less pained though.

Forfend started to usher her towards the library when it spotted Melzaryn wading through the crowd towards them. It did not see Kagoshi with him.

Melzaryn walked straight up to the pair and stopped, rocking on his heels. He looked uncharacteristically frazzled. "As you may be able to assume, there were... complications," he sighed wearily.

"Where is Kagoshi?" Forfend asked, deep concern dropping its core too low in its chest.

"My best guess? Where we started our day." Melzaryn shrugged.

"The jail?!" Forfend balked. "What did he do?"

Kairi pressed her hand to her face and shook her head. "What did he do this time?"

"Admittedly, it was a bit of both of our faults," Melzaryn mumbled. "But, he was, mm... not himself for a moment."

"Oh," Forfend hummed low in its chest.

"Also, I had to burn a book and I'm very upset about that." He crossed his arms and chewed at the inside of his lip, a scowl looking very out of place on his usually taciturn smirking face.

Forfend tilted its head back and forth a bit. "Well, fair enough. What happened?"

"That alter ego thing he's got? It tried to learn."

Forfend cocked its head, confusion swarming its senses.

"Luckily, no one died," Melzaryn added.

"I feel that is the bare minimum," it fussed. "I feel that should be a given in most situations. Especially library trips!"

"The real lucky part was that the book let me burn it."

"I am confused again," Forfend stated.

"You know how you're alive?" Melzaryn gestured to its entire stony form, "And you're rocks?"

"Yes?"

"That can kind of happen to other things."

"Ah," Forfend nodded, understanding at least somewhat. "I see. What do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it," Melzaryn admitted.

"Do we not need to go to the prison and talk to someone about it or something?" Forfend wondered aloud.

"Oh, that's most certainly step one." Melzaryn laughed derisively. "I just don't think they'll help us."

"We have to try."

"Then off we go," Kairi piped up and tugged on both their arms.

"Hold on, I do have one thing I need to do first," Melzaryn interjected.

He turned to face the magic shop Forfend had first noticed on their way to the jail.

Moli's Marvelous Mementos.

[annabethy]

stars above

in which Percy and Annabeth are laying under the stars and get philosophical,, percabeth,, honestly had no idea where to go with this so it’s really just them talking about nothing oh well

Percy likes to think that he’s a pretty tough guy. Years of demigod training have made him strong, and after everything he’s been though, he doesn’t want to appear weak. He’s glad to have built his name up in the world he lives in, and he’s glad that people know well enough that he isn’t someone to mess with.

Still, for as tough as he thinks he is, he certainly has a weak spot for the girl sitting in front of him.  

Annabeth sits on his lap facing him and presses kisses into every inch of his face that she can reach. It’s innocent enough with him laughing as her lips tickle against his skin. Percy almost forgets where they are, on the hillside quite literally in the middle of nowhere, but Annabeth does when she pulls away from him, breathless, so she can cup his face in her hands.

“I love this,” she whispers, part of her voice gone with the breeze of the night sky.

“And I love you.” Percy tries to pull her in for another kiss, but she slides off of his lap before he gets the chance to. He grabs her by the waist and whines, but she just gives a cute laugh.

“Poor baby,” she teases, settling onto the grass next to him. She doesn’t speak again until she lays back and he follows, opening an arm for her to rest against. Her palm rests gently against his chest, right over his heart, when she decides to keep being his personal bully. “You’re so in love with me that you can’t stand to go two minutes without a kiss.”

“That’s not true. I timed it a few weeks ago, and it was actually three minutes.”

“Oh. That’s impressive.”

“I do think so,” he murmurs, tilting his head to the side so he can press a kiss to her temple. Her eyes flutter closed at the soft contact, and it makes his brain feel a little fuzzy.

“Hm. That was more like two seconds.”

“What can I say? I’m a softy when it comes to you.”

“Percy Jackson? A softy?” Annabeth blows air between her lips playfully. “I never would’ve known.”

Percy rolls his eyes and squeezes her in his embrace.

“I mean… I know you’re practically a big teddy bear, but I’m pretty sure I saw a camper shit themselves when you walked by.”

“All fear Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon,” he says, a soft smile on his lips. “I’m not that scary, am I?”

“I don’t think so,” she says. “Not to me, anyways.”

“Well, I don’t think anything scares you, if we’re being completely honest.”

“Spiders,” she suggests.

“That’s understandable,” he says. “Anything else?”

Annabeth goes silent, and it’s times like this that he wishes he could read her mind. He’s known her long enough to know when she has something to say but doesn’t know if she should say it. Instead of pushing it, he just holds her tight and looks up at the stars above. He counts them in his head, reaching twenty before she decides to speak again.

“I guess I am scared of you,” she says. “Or maybe I’m scared for you? I remember on your sixteenth birthday when we were fighting that war… I don’t think I had ever been as scared as I was on that day. I was terrified that you would die. So, yeah, I think I am scared of you.”

Percy takes a deep breath and focuses on a constellation. He thinks it’s the Perseus constellation, and it reminds him of how far he’s come. He’s still alive, and he’s going to get his happy ending just like the stars read to him, and she has no reason to be scared.

“I’m not going anywhere,” is what he says.

“Well, that’s pretty obvious,” she says lightly. “If you were going anywhere, it would’ve happened when you were twelve and fighting a minotaur with your bare hands. But that doesn’t stop me from being scared of it.”

“Then I guess that means I’m scared of you too,” Percy nudges her nose with his own and feels when she smiles against him, “but we’re surrounded by everything that should be impossible. We were literally born of gods. I think it’s safe to say that if we can survive the impossible, then we should be alright.”

“You think so?”

“We’re going to get our happy ending,” he says confidently. “We’re going to get older and get married, and eventually, we’ll have cute babies.”

“And we’ll stop being scared?”

“Not a chance.”

Annabeth snickers into his arm. “But I think being scared means you have something to lose.”

“Better hope we never do lose it.”

Percy kisses her nose. “I don’t think we will.”

“This feels oddly philosophical.”

“Right? Maybe we shouldn’t go on dates to open fields at night anymore.”

“But it’s pretty,” she tells him.

“Not as pretty as you,” he quips back. “Everything about you is beautiful.”

“What about my eyes?”

“I love your eyes.”

“I’ve been told they’re scary.”

Percy smirks and shifts so he can lay and face her more comfortably. “Maybe to other people, but to me, your eyes are like home. They’re like a storm, but when I see them, it’s the type of storm where you stay home with the people you love. It’s a storm where you lay underneath a blanket with a movie playing in the background, listening to thunder outside while you hold the love of your life.”

He wishes it weren’t night right now, so he could look her in the eyes and see the beauty he knows so well. “You’re my home,” he says softly.

It’s then that Annabeth sits back up, and he’s glad she does because it allows him to tug her closer and hold her like she’s the only thing that matters (because she is).

“I’m glad to hear that,” she whispers against his neck. “Because I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

“You better not,” he warns. “We have to get married first.”

“You really are a big softy.”

Percy smiles and looks back at the constellation to remind himself that this love is his. He already has his happily ever after right in front of his eyes, nestled into his arms, and he hopes that nothing changes.

“It’s because I’m in love with you. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all.” Annabeth pulls him closer by his chin and lets her lips brush against his. “Especially since I’m pretty in love with you too.”

[aeonghaseyo]

Around You

Summary: The actions of a street cat taught you to shoot your shot and approach the older Kambal. But it didn't necessarily mean you had to change into a cat yourself to get his attention. ...right?

Word Count: 1459 AO3 link

Relationships: Crispin x CatSigbin!Reader Category: F/M Characters: Manang Muning, Crispin, Basilio Languages used: English, Tagalog Author's Note: I saw @adarlingwrites's sigbin OC in her Tumblr and I thought, why not write a fic with a cat sigbin reader? And here we are. 'Sup Crispin simps, I dedicate this to you. I hc that he's fond of cats, but that will have to wait until the next chapter. Enjoy! Inspired by the song Around You by LOONA Hyunjin

Chapter 1

“Halika dito anak, kumain ka muna.”

Manang Muning’s hushed tone beckoning you to join her and the rest of her feline family for dinner gave you a sense of comfort amidst the turbulent feelings that stirred your being. Normally, someone like you, who thrive among the middle-class folk in Malate, would help themselves to a pint of ice cream just for love troubles. But then again, you couldn’t refuse freshly-cooked daing straight from the old woman herself, which was why you went to her stall that one peaceful evening.

Out of the need to seek comfort through food prepared by your favorite vendor by the church, you quickly wolfed down the pieces of smoked fish in your plate, of course trying not to ingest the spines that clung to the meat. It didn’t take long before Manang Muning noticed your troubled disposition mid-meal and placed a hand on your back soothingly.

“(Y/n), anak, parang nagdadalamhati ka yata,” she spoke, which got your heart fluttering in surprise.

After swallowing that one last bite of your meal, you turned to her and said, “Okay lang po ako Manang. Wala lang ‘tong iniisip ko.”

Another wave of surprise caught you on your toes when Manang Muning once again asked, “Tungkol ba ito kay Crispin?”

Eyes widened, you mustered a quick response that turned into yet another question, “P-paano niyo po nalaman?”

Your inquiry made the old woman laugh heartily while a tuxedo cat nearby sauntered towards her, nudging her forearm to ask for more pets. As she let the cat settle on her lap, Manang Muning finally replied, “Anak, malapit ang loob natin sa isa’t-isa. Tuwing nakikita ko ang paningin mo, parati kong nakikita ang pagmumukha ng lalaking yun. Mukhang sinusundan mo yata pagkatapos mong samahan ang aking mga pusa kapag malapit sila sa pinanggalingan nila ng munting Trese.”

You didn’t think that every time you would be in your cat form tailing after Alexandra Trese and her adoptive twin brothers, your beloved old friend would tap into your vision just to see how you were doing. It was apparent that you weren’t bound to make advances of your own towards the trio in black, especially the short-haired twin, and even in plain sight you weren’t much noticeable. After all, who would pay mind to a small house cat, let alone think that it had emotions of its own?

Your heart sinking within your chest, you let your head bow down and your eyes closed as you dwelled in your disappointment. Trusting in Manang Muning, you let out the woes that plagued you that involved you, Crispin, your habit of stalking him whenever he’s nearby, and how you couldn’t get yourself to approach him and let him know you exist.

A chuckle made its way through the old woman, then she wrapped her arm around you, squeezing the farthest arm of yours from her soothingly and began to impart advice of her own. “Anak, talagang hindi mo makukuha yung taong gusto mo kapag naghihinayang ka masyado. Talagang kailangan mo siyang lapitan para mapansin ka niya.”

It didn’t help that whenever Manang Muning would soothe you with advice of her own in such a comforting manner that your eyes would tear up automatically. As you heard her tranquil voice speaking to you, your eyes were glossed with tears which also somewhat accumulated on your lower eyelids.

So you inadvertently looked like the puppy eyes emoji in Facebook Messenger when you looked at her and said, “Di ko po alam kung paano.”

“Anak,” Manang Muning calmly chided as she stroked the tuxedo cat who was nestled on her lap, “tignan mong mabuti itong alaga ko. Kanina, gusto niyang haplusin siya kaya niya hiningi ‘to sa akin. Hinaplos ko siya at hanggang ngayo’y hinehele ko siya gamit ang haplos ko. Alam mo kung bakit nakuha niya ang haplos na gustong-gusto niya?”

You glanced both at the cat in question and looked back at the old woman. It was then that you realized what you could do to charm the demigod you were yearning for.

---

From the way you held your ice cream cup as you feasted on the frozen dairy treat, you were nervous as hell, and it was very telling. You could have sworn that your ice cream permanently rendered your hands akin to popsicles as you stared at the dessert on your non-dominant hand. You knew what to do the next time you encounter Crispin, but how would you pull it off smoothly?

Remembering that one night when Manang Muning imparted a valuable lesson to you to limit your hesitations and shoot your shot with the demigod, you knew very well that she meant to tell you to just approach him. It didn’t mean she recommended you to change into your cat form and get his attention the way that other cat did to your beloved manang. But then again, it was your idea. You told her you were going to get Crispin’s attention as a cat. Everyone loves cats right? Besides, it was better than stalking your object of adoration from the alleys and in plain sight, even just as a regular house cat. (Or street cat? Technically, you did have a home.) Love really makes you come up with stupid ideas for sure.

Speak of the devil.

The demigod twins were right at your proximity, and you could tell from the ringing of the entrance door which revealed the both of them entering the premises. Basilio, the younger, long-haired twin, was chattering away while Crispin seemingly paid no mind to him. It seemed strange, however, that their Bossing was not with them. It didn’t take long for you to notice that you were staring at them as the older twin glanced at you for a moment, prompting you to look away and finish your ice cream. What you failed to see next was him smirking to himself before he went to the food aisle.

Your thoughts plagued you as you paused and stared at your now empty cup.

‘God, I can’t believe that shameless idea came to mind. If this backfires I’ll never find love again. Why is this so hard?!’

The stress that accompanied your thought made you unknowingly snap your tiny spoon in two with one hand. It did not help that since the twins were nearby, the sound was enough to make them notice, so their heads immediately turned to where you sat.

“Yikes, the spoon did nothing wrong,” said Basilio in a joking manner as he got a bag of chips from the display rack.

Clearing your throat, you muttered a "sorry" as you got up from where you were and walked to the cashier with your wallet in one hand, wishing to buy another cup of ice cream to calm yourself down. You immediately asked the cashier to serve you that same flavor of ice cream that you loved so much, but as you fished through your wallet for a smaller bill, you noticed that all you had was a 1000-peso bill. As soon as the young man behind the cash register handed you the frozen treat, you blurted out, "I'm sorry, I don't have a smaller bill, do you have change for 1000 pesos?"

The cashier, checking the cash register for enough money for your change, grimaced slightly as he said, "Sorry ma'am, we don't have enough change for that."

Your heart sank all the more as you realized you technically had nothing to pay with, but all of a sudden, you felt as if that heart of yours was caught and gently lifted up as someone handed the cashier the exact amount of money you were supposed to pay the him. You looked closely at the arm and the man it belonged to, and your heart skipped a beat as you noticed that it was actually Crispin who handed the money.

A blush formed on your cheeks as you thanked him for the treat. "I-I have to repay you that same amount next time, don't I?"

Crispin winked at you and replied, "Of course not. Unless you wanna see me again. Now go enjoy your ice cream before it melts."

That smooth motherfucker.

'Jokes on you. I'm the one who's melting, not the ice cream.'

You walked back to that same table you sat by, savoring your first small scoops of ice cream with a new spoon as you glanced back at your crush and his twin brother. By the looks of it, the younger twin seemed to be teasing his kuya, nudging him a few times with a shit-eating grin on his face. Maybe you finally got through to Crispin?

Now you began to second-guess turning into a cat to get his attention.

[btxtreads]

Epirus || Choi Soobin

Part of the Olympus Falls Series 

➴ Pairing: Choi Soobin x Reader ➴ Word Count: 11.5k ➴ Genre: Fluff, Angst, Slowburn ➴ Warnings for this teaser: none ➴ Warnings for this fic: mentions of war, death, mentions of death, soul exchange, ghosts/spirits, a trial, implied smut, a disappearing fetus

Even when chosen one succumbs to the fields,

the hero will never yield.

To save Olympus and finish the war,

Is everyone’s final goal thus far.

The son of Zeus stands high and proud,

While the other watches happily from the ground.

The war is to end when the other is safe and sound,

To break the chains keeping Olympus bound.

Y/N collapsed on the floor, her mind racing a mile a minute.

Joonhyuk is dead.

From behind her, she can hear Ari—daughter of Aphrodite and Joonhyuk’s girlfriend—break into hysterics.

Bongjoo—son of Demeter—fretted over the girl and Beomjae—son of Athena—wracked his mind for solutions to the current dilemma.

“What do you mean my brother is dead?” Y/N muttered from her spot at the floor.

No one bothered to reply.

In that one corner, she never felt as alone as she did.

She just lost her little brother, the boy who has been by her side through everything—her little protege who never let the title son of Zeus get in his head.

Joonhyuk, the savior of the prophecy, is dead.

Beomjae’s eyes softened as Y/N pulled herself up.

“He—Joonhyuk can’t die, guys. The prophecy said he’s the hero, the son of Zeus. He’s the only son of Zeus so—“ Y/N stuttered out.

Beomjae approached the girl with a soothing pat on her shoulders.

“I-I know, I don’t understand either, Y/N,” Beomjae sighed.

“We can’t win the war without him,” Bongjoo mumbled.

“Is there any way to get him back?” Ari sobbed. “I love him—I want him back!”

Y/N whirled around to the grieving girl, fire in her eyes as she snarled.

“Can you stop being selfish for once?!” Y/N growled.

Ari cried harder as she glared at the daughter of Zeus.

“Y/N, that’s enough,” Beomjae mumbled soothingly as he pulled the angry girl away. “I can think of a way,”

“What?”

“Souls have been saved from the Underworld before, through diplomacy and negotiation with Hades,” Beomjae offered.

“Do you think it’ll work?” Ari asked weakly.

“I think so,” Beomjae sighed.

“I think we can pull it off and reason with Hades—after all, it is the war of the gods we’re fighting,” Bongjoo sighed, still comforting Ari.

“Okay, not to be pessimistic—but this is Hades we’re talking about,” Y/N said. “One: we’re not fighting the war of the gods—we’re fighting the war to save Olympus. If you haven’t noticed, Hades is the god that hates Olympus. I doubt he’d care,”

Ari opened her mouth to talk, but Y/N continued her rant.

“Two: This isn’t a Disney cartoon. You can’t just go down and go all Hercules and steal a soul off Styx—Styx doesn’t even have the souls. We won’t know where Joonhyuk is,”

Ari started to cry once more as Beomjae sighed.

“Well, do you have any other solutions?”

Y/N stopped talking, lips pursed as she thought of another loophole.

There wasn’t.

“Well?” Beomjae asked.

Y/N sighed, grabbing her coat from a nearby rack.

“Fine, but I’m going with you,” Y/N said, grumbling under her breath. “If this fails, I told you so,”

Y/N pulled on the loose threads on her jacket as she groaned.

“I can’t believe this is happening right now,” Y/N hissed.

“Better believe it, we’re here,” Beomjae scolded as he cleared his throat as he looked up at the gigantic door leading to Hades’ castle.

“How exactly do we get in?” Bongjoo asked, flinching as Ari scoffed.

“The faster we get in,” Ari said, stomping forward and pushing the other three demigods out of the way. “The faster I get him back,”

Y/N blinked as Ari pounded on the gigantic wooden door with a scream.

“Hades, let us in!” Ari screamed hysterically. “Let us in!”

Y/N pulled Ari away.

“Calm down—we don’t want to infuriate the god—“

Click!

The four demigods looked over at the wooden doors swung open.

Another wooden door was visible at the end of the hall.

Ari brushed Y/N’s hand off her shoulder to shoot the girl a glare.

“You we’re saying?” Ari hissed as she stomped in the castle with an arrogant pep in her step.

“That’s it—we’re going to die,” Y/N said, smacking her lips as she followed Ari into the hall.

As they neared the second door, it swung open as well—and they were met with a man their age.

He was decked in a black turtleneck and jeans as he slumped on the throat—head propped on his palm as he looked onto the group.

“Hi,” he sighed, straightening up. “What can I do for you?”

His voice was so deep, charming—simply alluring.

There was no reply as the demigods looked at each other.

Y/N stepped forward, clearing her throat as she looked at the boy straight in the eyes.

Very cute boy—with long legs, jet-black hair, bright brown eyes, upturned lips.

“We would like to speak with Lord Hades,” Y/N spoke, voice firm and determined.

The boy smiled, chuckling silently as he tilted his head.

“You are speaking to Hades,” The boy laughed.

Y/N’s eyes widened as she turned back to her companions.

By those words, Ari was gaping, Bongjoo looked confused and Beomjae just looked downright shocked.

“Y-You’re Hades?” Ari asked, holding a hand to her mouth. “I thought you’re like 43? You’re not 43—you’re cute!”

Hades blinked on his throne before looking back down at Y/N, coughing awkwardly.

“I—uh—I look like this usually,” The god muttered as he fidgeted in his throne.

He cleared his throat before smiling once more.

“Anyway, what can I do for you?” He asked.

Y/N was mesmerized as every move of the boy made the diamond jewelry on his body glint in the firelight.

She shook her head as Hades looked at her expectantly.

“My brother—his name is Joonhyuk, son of Zeus. He’s the hero of the prophecy for the current war, but he died,” Y/N spoke.

“Prophecy?” The god asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Like, the war of Olympus prophecy?”

“Yes,”

The god look taken aback as he opened his mouth.

“Oh, but,” Hades frowned. “he’s dead, and even I can’t dictate what the fates would decide. If he’s dead, he’s dead,”

“He can’t die, my lord,” Beomjae started, stepping up next to Y/N. “He’s our only chance at winning—and you’re our only chance at getting him back,”

Y/N turned back to the god as he only tilted his head.

Beomjae launched into a monologue of explanation.

“Orpheus and Eurydice—you gave Orpheus a chance to get Eurydice back,” Beomjae reasoned.

“I knew he was going to look back,” The god shrugged. “Wouldn’t cost me a soul, so—“

“Please, Hades,” Ari pleaded.

“I don’t get paid for this shit,” Hades sighed, running a hand through his hair and smiling tiredly over at the demigods. “Fine. There is a way,”

“We’ll do it!” Ari said, stepping up. “What is it, my Lord?”

“I need a soul in exchange of Joonhyuk—there needs to be a balance,” Hades sighed. “There are other ways but this is the guaranteed—fastest—way,”

Y/N turned over to her friends, who started to talk amongst themselves.

“Guys? What do we do?”

Ari started to tear up once more, and Bongjoo looked lost.

For the first time, the son of Athena was lost for words as his shoulders slumped.

“I-I don’t know,” Beomjae said silently.

“Look, I’m really sorry,” Hades said, frowning. “But that’s the way—even gods have rules to follow,”

Y/N screwed her eyes shut as she stepped forward more.

“I’ll do it,”

All heads snapped over to her.

As she opened her eyes, her gaze locked with Hades.

“If I do this—there’s a guarantee that Joonhyuk will survive, right?” Y/N asked.

Slowly, the god nodded.

“Yes, you have my word,”

“You swear?”

“I swear on the River Styx,”

There was a strike of thunder, sealing the deal.

Y/N closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she turned back to her friends.

Ari’s tears started pouring out as Beomjae gasped in shock.

“Y/N—“

“Bongjoo—make sure you three make your way up with Joonhyuk, alright?”

The boy nodded sadly.

“Beomjae—You are so smart,” Y/N smiled softly as she patted the younger’s hair. “And with you and Joonhyuk fighting side-by-side, you’ll win this,”

Beomjae only regarded the girl with soft, sad eyes.

“Ari,” Y/N started, taking the girl’s hands. “We may have had our differences—but I know you, and I know you love Joonhyuk. Can you tell him I love him, too?”

Ari sobbed harder as she launched herself on the girl.

When they pulled away, there was a hand that landed on Y/N’s shoulder.

The girl tensed up as she felt Hades’ tall presence behind her.

“I’ll take care of you, don’t worry,” Hades soothed before looking up at her companions. “Joonhyuk will be outside the throne room,”

As the other demigods bid their goodbyes and made their way out, Y/N turned around slowly to look over at the god.

“Lord Hades,” She said softly, bowing.

“No! No, none of that!” The god rushed, burning red as he shook his head fiercely. “And—uh, call me Soobin,”

“Soobin?”

“That’s my name,” The god nodded slowly. “Hades is just the title—but, uh, I’m Soobin,”

“Soobin,” Y/N mumbled, letting his name roll on her tongue before she looked back up at the god—boy—with a frown. “Shall I proceed to the Fields of Asphodel, then?”

“No,” Soobin said, smiling softly as he shook his head once more. “I’ll show you to your room upstairs.”

“Why?”

“Because I feel bad for you, for essentially keeping you here against your will,” Soobin shrugged, walking forward as Y/N followed behind him. “Letting you stay in the castle instead of being lost in the Fields is the least I can do—you technically aren’t dead, anyway.”

“If you really feel bad, you’d let me go back with my friends,”

The boy turned his head back, shooting the girl a sympathetic look.

“I’m really sorry, but you know I can’t do that—it’s either one of you or him. You were the one that wanted to stay,”

“Yeah,” Y/N pursed her lips as she looked out at the window they were passing—catching a quick glimpse of her former companions.

This time, there was another figure—a tall boy with brown hair—following them. Joonhyuk.

“I know,” Y/N sighed sadly as Soobin shot her a sad smile.

“I hope you at least like your room,” Soobin offered as he threw open a set of double-doors. “Take a look,”

Y/N sat on the couch, uncomfortable as Soobin sat across from her—completely immersed on the novel he held in his hands.

“Big library,” Y/N squeaked out.

Soobin smiled as he set his book down.

“You didn’t have to say yes to accompanying me here if you were that uncomfortable being with me, you know,” Soobin said, eyes amused as he looked over at Y/N.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m great!” Y/n said, as she reached out to take a random scroll of parchment nearby. “I’m just going to read this parchment!”

Soobin chuckled as he turned back to his book.

Y/N cleared her throat, wincing at her awkwardness as she unrolled her parchment—eyes scanning the words on the paper.

Today, I took a stroll on the beautiful gardens of the Underworld. I particularly loved the Scintilla blossoms and the Gumamelas. Strangely, there was a bush of white roses with golden outlines. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Maybe it was being grown for me?  I feel like he really is in love with me—despite what my family tells me. I do feel more and more endeared to Hades—Soobin. I grow more and more in love.

Persephone.

Y/N blinked as she let her hand run through the parchment.

“Persephone,” She mumbled.

“What was that?” Soobin asked, raising his head once more.

“Oh, nothing,” Y/N shook her head as she passed him the parchment. “Just—uh—read a little something,”

“Ah,” Soobin winced as he glanced at the handwriting. “Persephone.”

“You must really love her to start a whole flower garden for her, huh? And a new type of rose?” Y/N asked, tilting her head. “I want to be loved like that—I mean, minus the kidnapping—No offense.”

Soobin chuckled as he rolled the parchment once more.

“None taken, seeing as I didn’t grow a garden for Persephone, or make a new kind of rose for her,” Soobin shrugged. “or even kidnap her. I did none of those.”

“What?” Y/N blinked.

“Hm, how do I start?” Soobin smiled, adjusting his sitting on the couch. “I saved Persephone. I didn’t kidnap her,”

“But Demeter?”

“Demeter nags. She nags a lot,” Soobin snorted. “But no, I didn’t kidnap Persephone or anything—I never even married Persephone, or wanted to. I didn’t like her like that. I didn’t like anyone,”

Y/N pursed her lips as Soobin fiddled with his thumbs.

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as the god narrated his story, laying himself and his history bare in front of the demigod.

“So, if that all didn’t happen—what exactly happened?”

“Well, I saved her—she was in an open field. There was a god rampaging that day, and he saw Persephone. Left alone, who knows what could happen to her?” Soobin shrugged. “She was a sweet kid and I was there anyways, so I figured—sure, why not? She did stay here for a while, I accommodated her though I kept telling her to go back to her mom in Olympus. She didn’t want to. It felt rude to kick her out, so I didn’t,”

“So, what gave Demeter the impression you kidnapped her?”

“I don’t know,” Soobin shrugged. “She just came down here and started calling me a kidnapper. Persephone didn’t defend me or anything,”

“Why did you make Persephone go back and forth, then?”

“Please,” Soobin snorted, smiling at the girl. “That’s not true—notice she’s not here? It’s drought season,”

Y/N nodded slowly, processing the information as Soobin cleared her throat.

“I never made her go back and forth—I never wanted to be with her. I never wanted to marry anyone, really,” Soobin said as he mumbled under his breath. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this,”

“That’s got to suck—Why?” Y/N smiled sympathetically as she tilted her head.

Soobin cleared his throat as he shrugged.

“I—uh—think Aphrodite hates me? I’ve never loved anyone or had anyone fall in love with me,” He said. “It’s not like I don’t want to, it’s just that I haven’t felt it, so,”

“I don’t understand,” Y/N said—curiously taking the bait to peek into the life of a god. “gods fall in love all the time—you guys literally have sex all the time,”

Soobin laughed.

“Sex, sure—I had it,” Soobin smiled. “But never love. It’s scary—have you seen Orion, Medusa, Helen, Cleopatra?”

“Not all love stories end in tragedy, you know.” Y/N said, frowning as Soobin shrugged.

“My life is a tragedy—I’d be more surprised if my love wouldn’t be,”

As Soobin shot the girl a small smile and returned to his novel, Y/N had an epiphany—Hades was never the villain of the story.

Hades was just a victim of Olympus—thrown away and used as a scapegoat when he was just a kind and gentle creature too shy to defend himself from all the allegations thrown to him by the gods playing protagonist.

Hades—Soobin—was just the misunderstood outcast living under the shadow of Zeus and Poseidon.

It was her next to Joonhyuk—and Beomjae, Ari and Bongjoon.

Maybe, for the first time, she finally found somebody understood how she felt all these years.

It just so happened he was the god of the dead.

Y/N laughed as Soobin scrunched his nose, grip tight on his fork.

“I’m not the god of death, okay? I’m god of the dead.” Soobin scoffed as he stabbed into a plate of ambrosia. “Death is Thanatos.”

Y/N shook her head as she took a bite of her eggs.

Soobin looked at her with a tilt of the head.

“You know—you’re technically a soul. You can eat ambrosia by the bulk now,” Soobin said, pointing over to the big serving plate of ambrosia in front of him.

“I—um—like the sense of humanity,” Y/N smiled, shaking her head.

Still confused, Soobin nodded.

“So, um, are you busy today?”

Y/N looked up, raising an eyebrow at Soobin.

“I mean I have nothing to do here, so—“

“Right, right,” Soobin said, coughing awkwardly. “I just—have a free day? I was thinking maybe I could show you around the castle.”

Y/N bit her lip, smiling softly.

“Yeah, Okay,” She said with a chuckle. “I’d love that.”

After breakfast, Y/N found herself taking a stroll at the castle gardens with Soobin by her side.

This time the boy wore a loose, white, collared shirt, black slacks and black dress shoes—the whole ensemble fitting him just right.

His hair was styled delicately—black hair perfectly parted by his forehead.

He looked ethereal.

Y/N shook herself out of her stupor as Soobin bent down to admire the sunflowers growing out of a small patch in the gardens.

Soobin turned to Y/N waving her over, making her smile and press closer to the flowers and to Soobin.

“Sunflowers are actually my favorite,” Soobin confessed as he caressed the petals of the flower. “These are one of the first plants I had growing here. Don’t you think they look pretty?”

Y/N smiled as she reached out to the flowers herself.

“Pretty,” she agreed.

She wondered how these flowers, especially ones that thrived on as much sunlight as it could muster, prospered underground in the world of the dead, but as she looked over to Soobin who smiled fondly at his garden, she realized that she was with someone who could do the impossible.

Soobin looked over at her, chuckling as he stood up.

“What’s your favorite flower?”

“Roses,” Y/N answered without a beat.

A look of recognition flashed in Soobin’s eyes as he dragged her over to another area of the gardens.

“Remember when you read about the white and gold roses that I made?” Soobin smiled, presenting her with a rosebush in full-bloom.

“Oh,” She gasped. “Oh, wow.”

Soobin smiled, letting his hand wander over the bush and pluck a rose off—expertly cutting it off.

“Soobin—the thorns—“

“Here,” he smiled, giving it to the girl.

Y/N blinked as she looked over at the rose—no thorns.

“I—no thorns?”

“Nope,” Soobin smiled as Y/N reluctantly accepted the flower. “Nothing can hurt you here, Y/N, not even a flower—so don’t worry. I got you,”

Y/N smiled as she smelled the flower in her hands.

“It smells nice,” She commented as she looked around, smiling at the gardens. “It’s beautiful—everything is beautiful,”

Soobin smiled, letting his eyes dance on her face as he echoed her words.

“Beautiful,” Soobin said, his hands reaching out to brush Y/N’s hair away from her face. “You’re beautiful.”

Her shocked eyes snapped over to his equally wide ones, but none of them pulled away or made a move to stop the action.

Then, she smiled.

“You’re beautiful, too,”

It was dangerous—what she’s doing— growing fonder and fonder of the boy who swore up and down that was scared of falling in love.

It’s alright.

This feeling was probably nothing, anyways.

Y/N smiled, leaning on the gates of hell as she chuckled.

Soobin groaned as he rolled his sleeves back to his elbows, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

This time, the boy wore a loose grey hoodie and kept his hair undone.

He looked so, for a lack of a better word, boyfriend.

Y/N winced—she just called the god of dead so boyfriend.

That was disgusting.

Still, she couldn’t help but observe the male as he picked up a gigantic red ball and tutted at the three-headed dog.

“Cerberus. Here, buddy!” He whistled before throwing the ball up.

The dog—dogs?—yipped as they shot up for the right head take a bite of the ball.

It, then, leaned down to place the slobber-covered ball by Soobin’s feet.

Soobin frowned, looking back at Y/N.

“You know, I still can’t believe you convinced me to play ball with Cerb,” Soobin deadpanned as Y/N walked forward—black skirt trailing behind her as she wrapped her arm around Soobin’s.

“Aw, come on—you’re having fun, I can tell,” Y/N laughed as Soobin sighed, picking the ball back up.

Y/N laughed at the sight—the ball was the size of an extra-large-sized Yoga Ball that almost engulfed Soobin.

“You come here and throw it, then!” Soobin humphed, passing the ball over to the girl.

Y/N yelped as her hands made contact with the slobber-covered ball.

“Soobin—“ She started to whine before she looked up to see Cerberus’ three heads looking down at her with bared tongues and a furiously wagging tail.

“Uh,” Y/N started, stopping short when hands wrapped around hers and a body pressed on her back.

“Okay, just uh—Throw the ball up so he doesn’t crush the spirits coming into the underworld,“ Soobin guided her. “and then—uh—step out of the way so he doesn’t crush you too. It’s not fun,”

Y/N nodded stiffly as Soobin adjusted her grip on the ball, his hands falling down to her waist.

“Okay, and go,”

Y/N threw the ball up.

As Cerberus leaped up to catch the ball, Soobin’s hands gripped her waist and roughly pulled her back and out of Cerberus’ way.

Y/N yelped as she stumbled, falling back.

Soobin groaned as he fell down, Y/N’s weight crushing him.

“I—am so sorry—“ Y/N stuttered, turning around.

Immediately, both of them froze with bright red blushes.

Soobin’s hands rested on her hips as she sat directly on his lap and hovered over him.

Soobin gulped, eyes locked onto Y/N as she burned redder.

“Oh, um—“ Y/N rushed, pulling herself off of Soobin. “Sorry,”

“S’okay,” Soobin smiled softly, a fiery red blush on his cheeks as he gestured over to the chimera. “But—uh, look. Told you you’d get crushed if we didn’t move,”

Indeed, Cerberus was plopped down on the place where they previously stood—middle head happily gnawing on the red ball.

“Oh, that’s uh—great—“

Soobin and Y/N turned away from each other—the latter with a soft smile on her face.

He gets cuter and cuter by the day.

Soobin chuckled as Y/N propped her elbow on the dining table, staring fondly at the boy.

This time—the god wore a silk black shirt with a collar, then an expensive-looking black blazer over it.

Y/N had to hold her praises back because dear gods, he looked so good.

“So,” Y/N spoke. “Do you want to hang out today—“

Immediately, Soobin frowned sadly and sighed.

“I wish I could, but I have work,” Soobin shrugged sadly. “God of dead things to attend to,”

“Oh,” Y/N said dejectedly, looking back down on her plate.

“I’m really sorry,” Soobin frowned, reaching out to place his hand over hers and running his thumb over the back of her hand.

“No, no—it’s okay! It’s your job, of course you have to go,” Y/N shook her head, before her eyes widened with mischief. “but that doesn’t mean you have to go alone,”

Soobin raised his eyebrows in confusion as Y/N perked up.

“I can go with you—I promise I won’t be a distraction or something!”

“I don’t know,” Soobin said, scratching the back of his head as Y/N gasped.

“Come on, please?” Y/N pleaded, intertwining her hands with his and giving it a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be like take your daughter to work day—except I’m not your daughter and the work is, you know, death,”

Soobin laughed in amusement as he tilted his head at the girl.

“I don’t know, Y/N—You? My daughter?” Soobin snorted. “No, thanks,”

“What—I don’t have the daughter of Hades spunk?” Y/N scoffed in mock offense as she held a hand to her chest. “Frankly, I’m offended,”

“Do pray tell,” Soobin shot back, leaning his head on his free palm as he squeezed their intertwined hands. “Who’d be your mother, then?”

“No idea,” Y/N quipped as she looked up in thought. “Who?”

As he looked over at the girl, Soobin muttered under his breath unknowingly.

“How can I imagine you as my child when I keep seeing you as the mother of mine?” He mumbled.

The statement was not fallen onto deaf ears as Y/N shot her head over to Soobin.

The boy’s eyes were only trained on their intertwined hands.

Y/N chuckled awkwardly, blushing as Soobin realized that she heard him.

“Stop being cute,” Y/N giggled as Soobin burned red.

“Why did I just say that?” Soobin mumbled to himself once more.

“I can still hear you,” Y/N laughed, reaching out and brushing his hair off of his forehead. “I promise I’ll behave,”

Soobin sighed.

“Okay, but just because you asked me to!”

Hours later, Y/N and Soobin stood in the middle of a barren field with cloudy gray skies.

There were hazy white figures wandering around.

One of Y/N’s hands gripped Soobin’s hand, the other clutching on his sleeve as she looked around.

“What is this?” Y/N asked, eyes confused.

“This is the Hall of Judgement,” Soobin smiled, wrapping his arm around her figure. “Don’t be scared,”

“I’m not scared,” Y/N said, pressing herself closer to Soobin—making the boy smile. “Just, uh, don’t leave me,”

“Okay, follow me,” Soobin laughed as they neared a soul of a female girl in war-gear. “Hello,”

The soul flinched, turning around swiftly with a fierce glare.

“Who’s there?” The spirit demanded before looking at the two. “Wait—Y/N? Daughter of Zeus Y/N?”

“Aris?” Y/N asked, eyes wide as she pulled herself from Soobin. “You’re—“

“Where—You were missing?” Aris gasped.

“Aris, I— you’re in the Underworld,”

“Oh, the Under—Are you dead? Wait, am I dead?”

Y/N’s eyes turned sad as the girl gasped in realization.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Soobin asked, stepping forward and letting a hand rest on Y/N’s lower back.

Y/N’s hands reached behind her back, clutching his as she smiled at him.

“And you are?” Aris’ challenging tone was back.

“Aris,” Y/N started gently. “This is Lord Hades—the god of the Underworld,”

Aris’ eyes widened as she gasped.

“I-It’s real—“ She said as she observed Soobin. “You’re—I really am dead,”

“I’m sorry, Aris,” Y/N sighed. “But what’s the last thing you remember?”

“Um,” Aris started, voice quivering as she gathered her thoughts. “I was—I was talking to Joonhyuk—“

“Joonhyuk, is he okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s alive,” Aris said. “He, uh, told me he came back to finish the war and save us all,”

Y/N smiled gently as Soobin squeezed her hand.

“Okay,” Y/N said softly, urging Aris on. “So, you were talking to Joonhyuk? Then?”

“Oh, uh, we heard that, um,” Aris’ eyebrows furrowed as she worked hard to remember the details of her dead. “We heard there was a breach in our defenses over at the bridge—Cyclops attack, so I went there. It was a big flock. I led the army and next thing I know—I was on my way here,”

Soobin nodded softly as he leaned in and whispered to Y/N’s ear.

“I have to talk to the judges, would you be okay with her?”

“Yeah, Bin,” Y/N smiled softly as Soobin pulled away. “I’ll be fine,”

The boy shot her and the spirit a small smile before striding over to a large black tent.

“Y/N?” Aris asked, eyes turning confused. “Why did you call Lord Hades ‘Bin’?”

“Oh,” Y/N chuckled, realizing that not everyone was familiar with his real name. “That’s his nickname—he likes being called by his nickname,”

“Ah,” Aris nodded. “Well, are you here to be judged too?”

Y/N smacked her lips before shrugging.

“He told me I didn’t need to—I’m not really dead and I’m staying with him anyways,” Y/N said.

“With him?”

“His castle is so big—there’s so much rooms!”

Aris furrowed her eyebrows as Y/N’s eyes shifted back to the black tent—waiting for Soobin to exit.

“Y/N?” Aris asked, tone grave. “Why aren’t you fighting up there?”

Y/N’s eyebrow raised in confusion.

“What do you mean why am I—“ Y/N gasped in realization. “Do you guys not know—Do you all think I abandoned you?”

“Didn’t you?” Aris blinked in confusion.

“No—of course not!” Y/N shook her head rapidly. “In order to get Joonhyuk out of here and back to life, someone had to stay so the souls were balanced in the Underworld. A life for a life, so I gave up mine—so he can come back and fight for you all,”

“Oh,” Aris nodded slowly. “They—Beomjae, Bongjoo, Ari and Joonhyuk never told us. We figured you just up and left,”

“I-I didn’t,” Y/N’s eyes turned sad.

“Why are you staying with Hades, then?” Aris asked, crossing her arms before she gasped with wide eyes. “Is he—Did he kidnap you like he did Persephone? Is he—“

“No, he’s not like that!” Y/N said, sighing in frustration.

Her eyes wandered back over to the tent as Soobin exited, making a beeline for a nearby flock of child spirits with a smile.

The boy crouched down, eyes soft as he talked gently.

“I love being with him,” Y/N said, eyes soft as Soobin continued to converse with the children—reaching out and ruffling the hair of one. “He’s nice, kind, considerate, charming—“

Soobin looked over at Y/N and smiled, winking before he turned back to the kids with a chuckle.

Immediately, her heart pounded in her chest.

Gods, she was doomed.

Y/N cleared her throat before looking back at the girl.

“I’m happy to be here,”

“But it’s not exactly Olympus—“

“I know, and I’d rather be here with him,” Y/N said softly.

The girl flinched as a figure in a dark cloak approached them.

“Im Aris—Daughter of Ares, you must proceed to the Judgement Pavilion,” The figure spoke in a muffled voice.

“I—This is it,” Aris said softly, eyes downcast as Y/N nodded to her.

“Good luck, Aris,” Y/N mumbled, watching Aris shoot her a small smile as she followed the figure to the tent.

A hand landed on her waist, making her heart stutter as she looked up to see Soobin smile down at her—his figure towering over her.

“Hey,” he greeted as he looked over at Aris’ departing figure. “Good to go?”

“Yep, yeah,” Y/N nodded smiling up at him. “Come on, let’s go home,”

“Actually, let’s go on a walk,”

Y/N gasped as Soobin pulled her towards River Styx.

“Come on, over here,” Soobin smiled as they walked by the river bank.

As the clear waters of the river flowed gently, a soft haze floated above it.

The haze contained hundreds of different artifacts streaming back and forth.

“I—I thought they said that the Styx was polluted because of the lost hopes and dreams and stuff?” Y/N asked as she marvelled at the sight.

Yeah,” Soobin pointed down at the water. “Some of the dreams fall down,”

Y/N looked down at the water just in time for a broken baseball bat to fall out of the haze and sink into the water.

“Oh,” Y/N winced.

She reached out to intertwine her hands with Soobin.

“I take a walk here sometimes, when I want to think,” Soobin softly smiled as they continued walking. “Seeing all these lost hopes and dreams remind me that I’m actually pretty fortunate to be where I am right now, even if I’m not doing such a good job as the god of the Underworld,”

Y/N frowned, squeezing his hand as she reached out and brushed her hand against the haze.

“Soob, you are doing amazing,” Y/N said smiling softly as her hand grasped on an object in the haze.

Immediately, her vision sparked—showing her a quick memory of a child forced to give up his dreams of being an actor to be a doctor.

“What did you see?” Soobin asked curiously as Y/N pulled her hand out of the haze to find a rusty Oscar Award. “Ah,”

Y/N sighed, releasing the award back to the haze.

“So, you see the memories, huh?”

Soobin nodded, tugging her along as he continued walking.

“When the memory is strong enough,” Soobin shrugged, smiling as Y/N continued to run her hand through the mist.

When her hand gripped on a small square item—she pulled it out.

It was a velvet box.

Soobin looked down at the box, stopping his walk as he opened his mouth and let out a soft ‘oh’.

Immediately, Y/N pried the box open and she was shot into a memory of a girl whose dream was to get married to the love of her life—but she wasn’t able to because he was a soldier that died fighting in a war.

“She said no?” Soobin said as Y/N returned from the memory, her thumb softly caressing the small diamond atop the rusting gold ring.

“He died,” Y/N mumbled softly as she closed the box sadly, returning it to the haze.

“Oh,” Soobin said, eyes downcast. “A lost love,”

Y/N nodded sadly as she looked back up at Soobin, who was silently observing the passing stream of lost hopes and dreams.

She can’t be like that girl with the lost love.

“Bin?”

“Hm?” He looked back down at her with a small smile. “What’s up?”

She’s got to take a chance.

Mustering all her courage, she inhaled softly and locked her gaze with him.

“I love you,” Y/N said firmly before her gaze wavered, looking back down. “Or like—I’m not really sure what love feels, so I can’t say for sure,”

Soobin blinked in confusion as Y/N gulped.

“Anyways,” Y/N nodded. “I like spending time with you, and everytime I look at you or talk to you, my heart just deadass wants to sprint out of my chest,”

Soobin blinked, body tense as Y/N ranted.

“Everytime you to hold my hand, or pull me close or brush my hair, I—I really want to kiss you and I literally just stop myself. It’s at that point where I’m really going crazy and if I don’t knew what you feel in the next hour, I’m going to lose my mind,” Y/N pleaded as she looked back up. “So, please, just say something so I know what to do with myself,”

Soobin only gaped—eyes shifting around speechless.

“Binnie?”

His mouth opened and closed in shock as he stood—unsure what to do.

His eyes flew behind her pulling her closer to his body to avoid the water of the Styx splashing on them as a person—a demigod, from what Soobin felt—stumbled into the Styx.

Y/N’s hands clutched his arms as she heard the pained screams of the demigod falling into the Styx.

When the screams silenced, Y/N softly pulled herself out of Soobin’s grasp.

The boy looked down at Y/N.

“Y/N,” he started softly.

“I should have known,” The girl only smiled softly, nodding.

“Wait, Y/N—“ Soobin said, reaching back to grasp her arm and frowning when it was pulled out of reach.

“No, it’s okay—You have a mess to clean, Lord Hades,” Y/N nodded.

Soobin’s eyes turned sad as he looked back down at the demigod underneath the Styx, running a hand over his face.

“Soobin,” Soobin said, looking over at Y/N. “You call me Soobin, remember?”

“Please don’t make me do something that will make me feel closer to you,” Y/N said, furrowing her eyebrows as she bowed. “I’ll make my way back to the castle, my Lord,”

Soobin can only watch as Y/N walked away from him.

Soobin sighed in frustration, throwing his head back in exhaustion as Y/N didn’t appear for breakfast with him yet again.

One of the spirits serving him came out, refilling his glass of nectar.

“Where’s Y/N?” He asked softly.

“She ate her breakfast early, my Lord,” the soul replied.

Soobin furrowed his eyebrows as he set his fork down.

“I don’t understand—didn’t you say she ate at this time yesterday?” Soobin asked, growing frustrated.

“Yes, my Lord, but she changes her eating schedule often,” The soul replied, eyes downcast as she bowed in apology.

Soobin calmed himself down, breathing deeply.

“I-I see, I’m sorry, thanks,” Soobin ran down his face as he stood up. “I’m done eating,”

The souls serving him bowed and started to clean up as he left the dining area.

It’s been a week since he last saw any trace of Y/N—much less heard.

He missed her.

He wouldn’t admit it, but Soobin even dressed up today—remembering how Y/N once mentioned she liked it when he wore clothes that made him look more teenaged liked his face and not “a half-dead CEO”.

Soobin sighed, clutching the ends of his black windbreaker as he stopped in front of Y/N’s bedroom door.

He never made his way over to here, no matter how much he wanted to.

He wanted to give her space—she obviously didn’t want to see him.

In truth, he never replied to her because he didn’t know what to say.

He never thought about whether or not he was in love with her to be honest—he just wanted to be with her.

With that thought in mind, he nodded to himself and cleared his throat.

He placed a soft knock on the bedroom door and waited.

There was no answer.

He tried again.

No answer.

He sighed again, running a hand through his hair.

Maybe today’s not a good day.

As he turned to make his way out, his ears heard the distinct barks of Cerberus—along with a laugh that was all-too-familiar to him.

He made his way over to the nearby window, looking down to see Y/N laugh as she played with Cerberus.

With a smile, he made his way down—leaning at the door as he watched Y/N pat one of Cerberus’ heads as the other snuggled her and the last one chewed on their ball.

Y/N hummed as she scratched the back of the dog head’s ear.

“I do, I do like Soobin,” The girl ranted. “But like, I’m stupid, you know? He’s a god—a cute god, which is way worse,”

Y/N sighed as the dog tilted its right head.

“Like, he told me he’s never even fallen in love before—at all—so what makes me think I’m better than Persephone, right?” Y/N snorted. “Like I’m in way over my head. Persephone—really?”

Soobin pursed his lips, exhaling slowly as Y/N frowned to herself.

“I mean if he didn’t fall in love with Persephone—fat chance of falling in love with me, right?” Y/N cooed as Cerberus’ right head barked. “You didn’t have to agree,”

“Y/N,” Soobin said, walking forward.

Y/N flinched, wincing as she turned over to Soobin.

“You didn’t hear all of that, right?” Y/N said, clutching the skirt of her dress.

Her hair was down in pretty curls—she was dressed in a long, flowy, white dress.

Soobin only smiled softly as he looked over at her.

She looked beautiful.

“Can we talk?”

At Y/N soft nod, he turned back to lead her to the gardens—smiling softly at her soft cursing.

As soon as they stopped by the rose bush, Y/N sighed.

“You know, this is the part where you break up with me,” Y/N said, her hands tracing the gold outlines of the petal of a nearby rose. “but since we’re like, not dating or involved in any way at all, I’m assuming this means your’e kicking me out of the castle to the Fields of Asphodel—or the Hall of Judgement or something,”

Y/N bit her lip as she looked over to Soobin, who only put his hands in his pockets with a smile.

God, she hated that he looked so good even when he was booting her out.

“If that’s the case, can I like change into comfier clothes before you cast me into eternal damnation or something?” Y/N asked, chuckling nervously.

Her nervous smile fell as Soobin soflty shook his head.

Y/N sighed, screwing her eyes shut as she fiddled with her thumbs.

“I messed up, didn’t I?” Y/N said, scratching the back of her neck.

She looked back up at the god, who only smiled wider.

She hated how her heart still pounded at the fact that he was smiling at her.

Y/N cleared her throat as she nodded.

“Well then, I’ll—uh—escort myself to the Fields. I know the way,” Y/N said with a deep breath. “Uh, thank you—for taking care of me even for a short while. Sorry I screwed things up,”

She turned to leave, biting her lip as she felt tears spring up to her eyes.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat as she turned back to Soobin.

“Uh, since I’m here, I just—I wanna tell you that I’m angry at myself for falling in love with you, but there’s not a thing that I regret from that,” Y/N said, sighing as she smiled over at him and tried her best to hold her tears at bay.

Soobin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“I’m not going to lie—I still love you. I think even more than i did when I told you the first time, and I’m grateful to have spent all these moments with you and for having met the man behind ‘Hades, the god of the dead’ title,” Y/N continued, gathering her thoughts as she fiddled with her thumbs. “And, um, Olympus is missing out of you, because you’re so perfect!”

Soobin’s smiled, eyebrows raising in surprise.

“And, I hope whatever you do or get up to in the future—you’d be okay, and happy,” Y/N said, nodding her head. “Because, the thought of you being sad makes me sad—though, obviously you wouldn’t care about that,”

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows as her mind snapped into attention at Soobin’s lack of response.

She nodded to herself, pursing her lips.

“Yeah, okay, I’m saying too much,” She turned abruptly. “I’m gonna go now,”

As she took a step forward, a hand grasped onto her wrist to pull her back.

She stumbled, letting her body follow as she was turned around.

Before she could say or do anything, she felt his soft lips crash on hers.

As soon as she felt him clutch her waist, Y/N swore she fell in love with him all over again.

Her heart skipped a beat as she let her hands reach up to run through his hair, eyes falling closed as she melted into him.

It was like the world could melt and break down all around her, but all that would matter to her was Soobin’s lips on hers.

Soobin smiled as he pulled away, leaning his forehead on hers with a soft chuckle.

Y/N blinked—stuck in a daze.

“Wha—“ Y/N started, looking up at him. “What was that?”

Soobin laughed, leaning back in and brushing his nose with hers.

“I love you too, genius,”

“Oh,” Y/N’s eyes widened as Soobin brushed her hair away from her face. “Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed we spent a whole week skirting around each other—that was so much wasted time,”

Y/N’s eyes softened as she sighed, brushing her lips on his and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry,”

“It’s okay,” Soobin smiled. “We have all the time in the world to just—stay here,”

“Here?”

“Here with you,” Soobin nodded. “When I’m with you I feel nothing—I’m not the Lord of the dead, or Hades, or some weird godly outcast. I’m just Soobin. I feel nothing but you,”

Y/N breathed deeply, closing her eyes.

“You know,” she started. “When I told you I loved you I really wasn’t expecting you to love me back, so if you’re just forcing yourself to love me back then I—“

“I’m not,” Soobin said, shaking his head as he let his hands fall down to grip her waist again. “Look at me, Y/N,”

The girl opened her eyes, frowning as she locked gazes with Soobin.

“I’m not forcing myself to love you because it’s not hard to fall in love with you, okay? And I really do feel so lucky because you chose to fall in love with me,” Soobin said, hand softly lifting her chin and lips softly placing a peck on hers. “You are extra-ordinary, and I can’t believe you fell in love with me even if you’re stuck here like some prisoner—“

“Soobin, I don’t feel trapped here,” Y/N smiled, hands reaching up to cup his face. “Not when I’m with you,”

Soobin smiled happily, chuckling as he leaned back down to press another kiss on Y/N’s lips.

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as a group of Empousa stood in the throne room in front them.

Soobin, sitting on his throne next to her, rubbed his forehead in stress as the Empousai listed their demands.

He reached out, grabbing Y/N hands and setting it on his lap—squeezing it to relieve his stress as he looked back up at the Empousai.

“You know you’re in Tartarus for a reason, right?” Soobin said with a sigh.

The leader of the Empousai scoffed.

“We believe we are misjudged,” the empousa sniffed. “we demand that all empousa be taken out of Tartarus—immediately,”

Soobin groaned, head falling back on his throat as he grumbled.

“Baby, my head hurts,” he whispered over to Y/N.

The girl shot him a sympathetic smile—squeezing his hand as she turned to the Empousai.

“You’ve killed demigods, correct?”

“For a good cause!”

“No,” Y/N shook her head as Soobin looked over at her. “You killed them to take over the world—That’s called ill-intent. No matter how you spin this narrative, it’s called murder,”

“No, we are doing it for the greater good—Olympus knows nothing!”

Soobin blinked in wonder as Y/N’s gaze turned fierce, standing up and sauntering over to the unruly monster.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead. If I were you, I’d go back to Tartarus, accept I’m a monster, take my punishment, and do better when I’m reborn,” Y/N hissed at the Empousai before turning around and walking back over to Soobin. “Take these demons back to where they belong,”

At Soobin’s affirmative nod, the spirits dragged the Empousai back to Tartarus—nothing but their shrill screams to signify they were ever there.

“That was something,” Soobin blinked over at Y/N as she chuckled, sitting in his lap and kissing his lips.

“You know I never butt in, but I’ve seen how stressed out you were these past few weeks over them—I had to do something,” Y/N smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “Besides, they’re like the bratty cheerleaders that were mean to be in middle school. Sweet revenge,”

Soobin chuckled, laying a soft kiss on her temple.

Y/N pulled away and smiled at Soobin as he caressed her cheeks—eyes soft as he gazed at the girl.

“What?” Y/N asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you had a mind-blowing realization about me,” Y/N narrowed her eyes.

“Because I did?”

“What?”

“I want to marry you,” Soobin quipped, smile widening at her shocked expression. “Surprised?”

Y/N blinked before scoffing, punching his arm.

“Stop making fun of me,”

“I’m not kidding,” Soobin laughed, letting his hands run through her hair and his forehead attach to hers. “I’ve been thinking it over for weeks—I want to marry you,”

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows as she clambered off of Soobin, crossing her arms.

“Bin—Getting married is serious, okay? You’re a god—you can’t just marry whoever you want,” Y/N said. “Your wife is going to be queen of the Underworld,”

“Don’t you want to?”

Y/N’s head snapped up to Soobin, who also stood up and walked over to her—hands buried in his pockets as he tilted his head at her.

“Don’t want to what?” Y/N asked.

“Get married,”

“With you? It’s a god damn dream come true,” Y/N chuckled as Soobin smiled, taking her hand. “But I’m not fit to be the queen,”

“Yeah, you are,” Soobin snorted. “with how you handled those Empousai? I’d say you’re perfect already,”

“Binnie, you’re just saying that,” Y/N rolled her eyes as Soobin shook his head.  

“You’re already perfect, Y/N,” Soobin said, smiling as he pulled a ring out of his pocket and fell down to his knees.

Y/N blinked in surprise—not even a sound or a peep or any movement from her as her eyes followed Soobin.

“I was supposed to plan this whole thing in the gardens, propose to you the greek way by tossing you an apple and then do it the modern way with romantic lights and a ring and everything—but I couldn’t wait,” Soobin shook his head, taking her hand and squeezing it. “Please, marry me,”

Y/N pressed her hands to her mouth as she gasped.

“I’d be the king and you’d be the queen—and we’d be so in love and we’ll have a lot of godly kids,” Soobin chuckled as Y/N laughed, tears welling up in her eyes. “and we’ll run Underworld—just you and me together, like it’ll always be,”

Y/N bit her lip, holding back her smile as she cleared her throat.

“Are you sure you want this?”

“More than anything in the world,”

“Then, yes.”

Soobin smiled, an emotional laugh bubbling out of his lips as he slipped the ring excitedly on her finger.

Y/N smiled as she marvelled at it, Soobin standing up and pulling her close to him.

“I’m going to marry you,”

Y/N giggled, leaning forward and placing a deep kiss on his lips.

Soobin laughed through the kiss, hands desperately clutching on her hips as he pulled away.

“My queen,” he whispered against her lips.

Three months later, Y/N and Soobin giggled amongst themselves as they talked about everything and nothing.

Their hands were intertwined, Y/N’s diamond ring glinting in the firelight as the book Soobin was reading was thrown haphazardly at the side.

“What’s the first thing you’ll do when we get married?”

“Consummate it,” Soobin snorted, bursting out with laughter as Y/N slammed a hand down his chest.

“We already did, doofus!”

“Well, we can do it again,” Soobin said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Wanna try tonight?”

“You are insane—“

The couple was interrupted as loud knocks sounded on the door.

“Come in,”

“Lord Hades, my lady,” The spirit stuttered as it bowed. “An iris message appeared at the throne room,”

Y/N rose up slowly, furrowing her eyebrows at the spirit.

“An iris message? Throne room?”

Soobin stood up, frowning as he followed the woman down to the said room—gaping at the rainbow in the middle of the room.

“Oh, wow, it’s been a long time since I saw one of these in the throne room,” Soobin commented as he neared the message.

“It happens?”

“Yeah,” Soobin shrugged. “Last time it happened was Hercules, I think,”

“That’s amazing,” Y/N smiled as she peered into the rainbow.

She gasped as the face of a tall figure manifested—features all-too-familiar.

“Joonhyuk?”

“Y/N!” Joonhyuk screamed as he slammed his hands on the desk in front of him in relief. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good,” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. “How—It’s been months, why are you only calling me now?”

“The war isn’t over yet, Y/N,”

“It’s not?”

Beomjae popped up next to Y/N with a worried face.

“Y/N, we cracked the prophecy,” He said. “You have to get up here,”

Soobin walked over, a soft frown on his face as his hand rested on Y/N’s waist.

Y/N looked up at him, frowning.

“I can’t. I have to stay with Soobin—Hades, I mean,” Y/N shook her head. “I exchanged my soul for yours, remember?”

Joonhyuk’s eyes turned worried as he glanced at the boy next to Y/N, hand tightly wrapped around her torso as he frowned.

Y/N reached up, softly cupping his hand and squeezing it.

“Is that Hades?” Another voice asked from the iris message.

Y/N paid no mind as she turned, looking over at Soobin.

“Bin—“

“I sort of knew it,” Soobin whispered as he pressed a kiss on her forehead. “I just wish it wasn’t this soon,”

“Baby,” Y/N said, pulling away and cupping his hands. “what are you talking about?”

Soobin only sighed as Joonhyuk and Beomjae gaped, Ari appearing next to them equally as shocked.

“Baby?” Ari asked in surprise.

“You and Hades?” Beomjae asked as Joonhyuk sighed, shaking his head.

“There’s no time—Y/N you have to leave him. You’re the only one that can save us,” Joonhyuk said. “Go now,”

Beomjae turned to Joonhyuk with worried eyes.

“Why me?”

“It’s what the prophecy said,” Joonhyuk said in frustration. “and there’s a magic barrier around the chains—no one can break it but you, just like the prophecy said. So, come here now,”

“Why?”

“If you break it the gods can wake up to save us—why do you have so many questions?” Joonhyuk said, eyes leaking tears as he almost cried in exhaustion. “Y/N, please. This is our one shot,”

Y/N bit her lip as she turned back to Soobin, burying her head on his chest.

“No,”

Soobin’s eyes widened as he looked down at the girl.

“What?”

“Y/N!” Joonhyuk called, but the girl only waved her hand through the message to disconnect the call.

There was a moment of silence, before one of them moved.

Soobin’s heart panged as she felt Y/N’s shoulders shake with sobs against him.

“Baby,” Soobin sighed, gently pushing her away and wiping her tears. “I think you know what has to happen,”

Y/N shook her head.

“No,” She whispered. “I don’t want to,”

“Babe,”

“I’m not going, Soobin,” she said, body shaking as she sobbed even harder.

Soobin sighed, smiling sadly as he let his eyes take her in.

“You know,” Soobin said, brushing hair away from her face. “I was fixing our wedding already,”

Y/N looked up at him, tear-stained eyes drinking him in for all it’s worth.

“Bin,”

The boy bit his lip as he squeezed her hands softly.

Y/N closed her eyes as tears start to silently roll out of Soobin’s eyes.

“I was dreaming that we’d get married soon, and then I’d be the king, and you would be the queen—the most beautiful goddess queen to ever exist,” Soobin said, holding back the quivering of his voice as he cleared his throat. “We’d have a lot of children playing around, and it’s just you and me for eternity,”

Y/N opened her eyes cupping his face.

“Soobin, Soobin, look at me,” she mumbled as she lined her gaze with his. “There has to be another way,”

“It’s the prophecy—there’s no other way,” Soobin shook his head, tears now free-flowing. “It has to be you,”

Y/N cursed, leaning her forehead on his.

“I—I can just not do it,” Y/N said. “You won’t get affected, you’re not in Olympus. We can just stay here, they don’t deserve to be saved,”

Soobin sighed.

“Baby,”

“They pushed you away, Bin,” Y/N said, cupping his face. “They made you an outcast, they made everyone think you’re evil—“

“Y/N, they’re my family and yours,” Soobin said, eyes pained as he breathed. “Baby, you have to go,”

Y/N’s eyes shook as her lower lip quivered.

“B-But I love you,”

“I know,” Soobin said, smiling as he cried. “And I love you too—but you know you have to go,”

Y/N nodded her head, as she sobbed.

“Soobin,” Y/N started. “I love you—more than anyone else I’ve ever loved before, more than anything I’ve ever loved my whole life,”

Soobin smiled, leaning forward and pressing a harsh kiss on her lips.

Tears flowed out of both of their eyes as their hands intertwined.

Slowly, Soobin pulled away with a smile.

“When you die, I’ll be there—for you,” Soobin said, nodding to himself. “I’m going to pick you up myself, and if you still want me, we’re finally going to get married. You’re going to wear a beautiful white wedding dress. You’re finally going to be the queen and we’re going to fall in love all over again—and we’re going to have a lot of kids and we’re gonna run the underworld together, okay?”

Y/N bit her lip, nodding.

“Okay,” she said, caressing his cheek. “Wait for me,”

“I will—no matter how long it takes,” Soobin said, pressing another desperate kiss on her lips as he pulled away. “Remember that I will always love you. Now go, and don’t look back,”

Y/N let herself look at him one last time before turning her back.

Not even when she heard him collapse to the floor, sobbing.

With tear streaks on her face, Y/N found herself stumbling into the tall building and into the elevator to the top floor.

Y/N bit her lip as she held back her tears, hands clutching her torso as she cried.

As soon as the elevator doors ring open, she faced Beomjae, Joonhyuck, Bongjoo and Ari at near the entrance to the border—surprised to see her.

“Y/N,” Joonhyuk started.

Y/N promptly ignored her as she marched forward, past the barrier and turning the key shoved inside the chain.

There was a bright shimmer as the chains dissolved.

Seconds later, there was the large crack of thunder.

After a few minutes, the entrance to Olympus opened—Y/N being met with her own father.

“Joonhyuk,” Zeus boomed as he neared his son. “you have saved us all. The war has finished,”

Immediately, Y/N broke to a loud sob—falling into a heap on the floor as she clutched her stomach.

“There, there, daughter,” Zeus soothed. “I know it’s been hard, but the way is over—we can celebrate!”

Y/N didn’t reply, crying harder as her hands tightened on her stomach.

Hera observed the girl sadly.

“This war is not without casualty,” Hera commented. “I can feel the grief of a mother who lost her child,”

At those words, Y/N cried harder as she curled up.

“Take me back,” Y/N mumbled. “Bring it back,”

“She’s—“ Joonhyuk said, eyes widening in horror as Y/N grieved.

“Yes, why would you think she broke through the barrier, child?” Hera explained. “Only a god could—a god like her child, who gave up it’s spirit and godly essence to his mother to save you all,”

“We killed a baby,” Ari gasped, sitting next to Y/N. “Your baby with Hades—I’m sorry,”

“Is she a goddess?” Joonhyuk asked, eyes trained on his sister.

“Not yet,” Hera hummed. “but she is promised,”

Joonhyuk frowned, looking over at Hera—eyes burning in recognition.

“Epirus—“ Beomjae gasped as he reached the same conclusion as Joonhyuk. “This is the Phyrric War all over again,”

“King Phyrrus of Epirus—the man who sacrificed too much to win,” Hera nodded grimly. “Your sister sacrificed everything to win this war—her love, her happiness, her husband and her child. Congratulations on your win, boys,”

Hera nodded at the two as he neared Ari and Y/N, laying a soothing hand on her shoulder as Artemis and Aphrodite approached the grieving girl.

Joonhyuk’s sad eyes locked onto his sister.

A win at much too high a cost.

70 years later, a bed-ridden 90 year-old Y/N lay in bed—eyes trained on her great-grand daughter with a smile.

“Grandma!” The kid bounced as she held up her book.

Y/N sighed softly as the kid clambered up the bed.

This child looked so much like Ari.

Y/N smiled fondly at the memory of the late daughter of Aphrodite.

Right after the war—Ari never left her side, having found out about her and Soobin.

The girl was obsessed with her tragic love.

While Y/N never married or fell in love with someone else ever again, she was happy to have witnessed Ari and Joonhyuk grow as a couple—and soon, parents to a healthy baby boy—Donghwa.

That boy grew up to have a daughter—Bongsoo, named after Ari’s other best friend and Donghwa’s uncle, Bongjoo.

Said daughter bounced her way into her grandma-aunt’s frail arms.

“Bongsoo,” Jiyong, Donghwan’s wife, chastised the kid. “I told you to be careful around grandma,”

“Grandma, I’ve been reading!” The kid exclaimed—waving her book. “It’s about Hades,”

At the mention of the god, Y/N perked up—eyes softening with love as she turned over to the girl.

“What about him?”

The kid made a fart noise, crossing her arms.

“He sucks—he kidnapped Persephone,” The kid said.

By the doorway, Donghwa arrived to watch with a sad smile—having known of his aunt’s story with Hades.

“Bongsoo,” Donghwa said softly. “Don’t say that,”

“But he did!” Bongsoo argued.

Y/N tutted her tongue as she softly patted the area beside her.

“Let me tell you about Hades, a good man and a good god who never kidnapped Persephone and was never in love with Persephone,” Y/N said as Bongsoo settled on the spot next to her.

“But, grandma, the book said so!”

“Let me tell you the real story,” Y/N smiled softly as Jiyong wrapped her hand around Donghwon, listening in.

“Once, there was a big, big war. There was a boy that wanted to finish it, but then he died. So, his friends and his sister went down to the Underworld, but Hades said that he can’t come back to life,” Y/N started.

“But why?”

“Because there are rules, little one,” Y/N smiled, poking the girl’s nose. “There has to be a soul that stays to make sure that there was balance in the world, so the hero’s sister stayed with Hades instead so the hero can go save the world!”

“Wow,” The child gaped.

“At first she was scared of him, but then he was so kind and gentle—she fell in love with him and he fell in love with her. Soon, she was going to be married with her and she was going to have a baby,” Y/N narrated, straight from her memory as the thought of Soobin and her lost child resurfaced in her frail, fragile heart.

“Then what happened?”

“Well, Bongsoo, one day the girl found out that she had to leave him because she needed to save the world too. Her baby died while saving the world. Until now, she still thinks about him—and she always wishes that Hades thinks about her too because she loves him so much,”

“Oh,” Bongsoo pouted. “Is the girl still alive?”

“No,”

“Do you know her grandma?”

“Yes,”

Donghwa smiled in sadness as his aunt’s eyes sparkled.

“Grandma, you do?” Bongsoo gasped. “Can you tell her that I’m sorry for judging Hades, and I hope she gets her happy ending, and get married to Hades soon,”

“Of course,” Y/N smiled softly as she urged the child to her mother. “she says to go eat some dinner,”

“Okay!” Bongsoo squealed as she made her way out of the room followed by her mother, leaving Donghwa.

“Auntie,” Donghwa started as he walked over. “You didn’t have to do all that,”

“You know how much I’d defend him—of course, I had to,” Y/N hummed, closing her eyes.

“Alright, well, I’ll go get dinner,” The man sighed, kissing her forehead. “I’ll be back to feed you afterwards,”

Y/N didn’t reply, turning sleepier and sleepier as Donghwa left.

She closed her eyes.

——

It feels weird.

For once, Y/N felt no pain in any part of her body as she shot up abruptly.

No pain in her back, head, feet, waist—nothing.

Y/N lifted her hands in wonder to gasp as the diamond ring on her finger—Soobin’s ring—glistened under the florescent lights.

Another detail she also noticed was the lack of wrinkles on her hand—just like it used to when she was young.

When she was—

Y/N stumbled over to the vanity, gasping and grasping her face as she only saw a hazy figure on the mirror.

It was her—she was almost transparent to the fact that she almost looked like mist.

She then realized she was wearing something too puffy—this wasn’t her regular pajamas.

No, she was wearing a white ballgown with diamonds encrusted at the bodice—a wedding gown.

Her hair was styled neatly, a ring of her favorite white and gold roses from Soobin’s garden embedded with beautiful jewels sat on top of her head.

Even her shoes were jewel-encrusted—the platform heels felt so light, yet she can see the diamonds glinting at the straps and the heels.

Y/N turned, gasping as she saw a body on the bed—her dead, 90 year-old body.

She was dead—she was dead, and wearing a wedding gown.

She felt expensive, regal.

Like a queen.

Picking up her dress as she realized it, Y/N bolted out of her room—stopping short at the dining table to smile at her blissfully unaware family as they dined.

They’ll be alright.

Y/N smiled as she nodded to herself, continuing her way out of the house.

She saved the world—it was finally her time to be happy.

As soon as she stumbled onto the front porch, her eyes trailed over to a tall figure wearing a tuxedo at the end of the driveway.

The man was tall—too tall for his own good as he clumsily rocked back and forth on his heels.

His black hair gently swept around with the summer breeze as he fawned over the rose bush that Jiyong carefully tended to.

Y/N walked over slowly, heart pumping fast as she smiled delicately.

She drank in the first sight of him she’s seen in 70 years.

“I didn’t know Thanatos wore tuxedos now,” Y/N hummed.

The figure only tensed slightly, before there was a familiar laugh.

He turned around, brown eyes softly landing on her as he shot her a smile.

“Nope, but I’ll tell him it’s a good look,” Soobin said, eyes raking down at her figure with a soft smile. “You look beautiful,”

Y/N laughed, tears pouring out of her eyes as she reached out to kiss him—tears pouring out of her eyes as they shared their first kiss in seven decades.

The first kiss for the eternity to come.

Soobin’s hands ran through her hair as he kissed her back, a smile permanently etched in his lips as he pulled away.

“I’m never letting you go again,”

“I’m never, ever, going to go away,” Y/N said, smiling happily.

Her smile dropped as Soobin’s hand trailed lightly over her stomach.

She smiled sadly, hands reaching down to bring his hand to her lips.

“Let’s go,” Y/N said, smiling as she tugged him lightly to place a soft peck on his lips. “I believe we have a wedding to get to,”

Soobin smiled, laughing as he nodded.

“Okay,”

Finally, he got his happy ending.

[tagthescullion]

Il Minuetto della Ragazza

Fandom(s): Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Rating: T

Words: 1988

Summary: Bianca di Angelo is alive. Alive and upset, confused, desperate... Camp Half Blood lost her little brother, and there's nothing she wouldn't do to bring him home safe.

(thank you @trollisgirl por tu ayuda <3)

AO3 link

Chapter 1: The Maze

There had been a bright red light inside the giant, warning Bianca of an imminent short-circuit. She had felt fear but it had been overrun by her desperation to lead the automaton away from her friends. She’d taken control and pushed the robot away with all of her might.

But Bianca’s will-power couldn’t stop the thing from blowing apart.

It hadn’t really been an explosion. Bianca wouldn't be conscious if it had been. The automaton had broken apart, each piece falling apart in sequence. And with part of the torso, Bianca had been catapulted, too.

It had reminded her of the footage she’d seen as a child, of pilots ejecting from their planes… which gave her a fraction of a second of joy, because she could remember!

The force of the harsh wind as she flew made her drowsy, and she was only half-aware as she hit the ground. Bianca held to her consciousness like a desperate man held to driftwood to avoid drowning.

She tried to get up, but pain flared on her side, forcing her to lay back.

The last thing Bianca remembered before her consciousness fading was a triangle on the ground… a delta symbol, her brain corrected weakly.

Bianca traced it with her finger as her eyes closed.

Bianca woke up to immense pain on her side.

The room… or whatever place she was in, was dark as ink except for a dim glow emanating from her left.

Bianca tried to sit up but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

“Shh!” A deep voice said. Whoever he was said something else, but Bianca was sure he wasn’t speaking English.

“Excuse me?,” she whispered. Her voice felt rough and unused, and she wondered how long she had been unconscious. “Where are we? Who are you?”

He turned his face, and Bianca managed to get a glimpse of a strong jawline and big eyebrows. Bianca saw the outline of a tall boy who hadn’t yet grown into his height.

“There’s no time to explain,” he said urgently, with a slight accent Bianca couldn’t recognise. “They’re after us!”

He shoved something into her hand and pushed it towards her mouth.

She knew better than to accept food from strangers but she didn’t have the strength to refuse. To her surprise, whatever it was tasted marvellous. Bianca didn’t quite remember what it reminded her of, but it brought a feeling of nostalgia and comfort.

She felt a strange warmth spread over her limbs, and the pain on her side receded.

Ambrosia!

The boy helped her up, if a bit brusquely, and held her hand in a tight grip.

“We have to leave,” he said. He kneeled to grab the source of light, a sword, and turned to her. “I don’t– I don’t know which way.”

He sounded desperate. And Bianca had no idea where in Hell they were. But the boy was a demigod just like her, and he’d helped her without so much as hesitating, she couldn’t just abandon him, could she?

The boy held up his sword and Bianca saw two passages, side to side.

“Let’s go left,” she suggested.

The boy took off running, with Bianca’s hand still held firmly in his. Every now and then they were faced with a bifurcation. Bianca chose randomly every time, although something in her was sure it was the right way.

By the time they found themselves in another opening, she was breathless and her side, although not in pain, was sore again.

“Hold up!” She pleaded, leaning against the wall. “I can’t go any further.”

The boy’s head turned so fast he must’ve got whiplash, “We can’t stop, Mary!” He snapped. “They are after us!”

Bianca felt a shiver run down her back. “Who’s Mary? Who’s after us?”

He stormed up to her, and Bianca was sure he would decapitate her right there, but to her astonishment he was smiling when he sat next to her.

“Don’t be silly,” he said. His expression became sad. “I knew I should’ve left you home. But mother… she’s not well.”

Neither are you, Bianca wanted to say.

“I have an important quest now,” he sounded hopeless. “I’ve failed. There’s no way out. This maze is… It’s not a good way to travel.”

Agreed.

‘Maze’ he called this place. Was that its name? No, Bianca remembered. Maze is another word for labyrinth, un labirinto.

The boy sighed hopelessly.

Bianca stood up slowly. “What’s your name?”

“Chris,” he said. And for a moment his eyes gleamed on the dim light of the sword. He looked serious. “I’m Chris Rodríguez. And you fell from the ceiling.”

“All right,” Bianca replied. She tried to think of something else to say, but she wasn’t sure what was wrong with Chris. He seemed to be aware of where he was now , but what if he snapped again?

“You’re not Mary.” He stated. His eyes filled with tears. “I’ve lost Mary.”

“Who’s… who is she?” Bianca asked.

Chris ran a hand through his face, “My sister. My little sister.”

“I’m sorry you lost her,” Bianca said. She hated talking to people she didn’t know.

“Luke took her from me,” Chris corrected. “He told me she was insurance, in case I failed.”

Luke? The Luke everyone talked about?

“She’s alive then,” Bianca forced a smile. “We’ll find the way out of here. We’ll go back to camp. They’ll know what to do!”

Chris scoffed. “Camp? They’ll never take me back…”

A loud noise startled them. Chris’ eyes glazed over again.

“Come on!” He got up quickly. “We have to leave! The giant won’t let me through again!”

Giant?

But Bianca didn’t have time to wonder who the giant was, Chris had grabbed her hand again and was pulling her towards the nearest tunnel.

They ran, and ran, and ran some more. Bianca felt her lungs burn as her legs stumbled on the rocky surface.

Chris had started spewing nonsense again. Mary this and Mary that. And the giant who had so many skulls.

Bianca tripped on a hallway with tunnels branching on boths sides every few metres.

“Wait!” She cried. “I saw light right here!”

Christ stopped in his tracks. “Light?”

“Yes,” she pulled him back towards the tunnel she’d stumbled next to.

A tiny, minuscule square of light crowned the end of it. Bianca didn’t mean to ‘walk towards the light’, she’d heard stories of people seeing such things when they were close to dying. Then again, they would probably die if they stayed in the maze anyway.

Chris gaped at the light as though he had seen salvation.

And of course he wasted no time before taking off running that way, Bianca in hand.

The square grew bigger fast, disproportionately to their speed, until they were blinded by the brightness.

Outside, once her eyes cleared, Bianca saw a construction site. The maze appeared to be an appendix to a wall they were building.

“Come on,” she instructed, taking the lead for a change. “We’re getting out of here.”

The construction workers weren’t pleased to have a couple of teenagers wandering their workzone, but they let them go with little fuss.

Finally, Bianca could see Chris’ face properly. He looked like shit.

His skin had a greenish, unhealthy tint, and his eyes were wild. He never focused on the same spot for more than half a second. Now that he’d put his sword back on its sheath, his hands fidgeted around a necklace he had on, with his pockets, they straightened his filthy shirt… anything that kept him moving.

She guessed she didn’t look much better herself, minus the maniac gleam on Chris’ eyes, perhaps.

Bianca also saw the backpack he carried. She sat Chris at a bus stop and took it off his shoulders. He barely even paid her attention.

She rummaged through it and found a plastic bag with ambrosia, she gave Chris half a square for him to chew.

His skin lost some of its paleness, but he still didn’t look good. His brown eyes remained haunted, and Bianca saw a sort of fragility to them.

She needed help. They needed help. As soon as possible.

Bianca tried to find something, anything, that gave her any idea of where they were. There were low hills on the horizon, and the weather was a lot warmer than she recalled. It looked similar to the junkyard, but she was positive that a lot of cities looked the same. They hadn’t walked all that much. So whatever that underground maze had been, they couldn’t be very far.

She scanned her surroundings and saw a newspaper stand half a block away.

“Chris,” she said. He didn’t look at her. “Chris!”

He hummed.

“I’ll go over there for just a minute. Stay here, okay?”

He hummed again.

Bianca ran to the stand. The owner gave her a nasty glance but said nothing.

She couldn’t exactly ask him ‘kind sir, please tell me where we are’, and the newspapers’ names mentioned cities she didn’t recognise.

Then she saw the date.

For the hundredth time in what felt like hours Bianca felt like fainting.

Surely there had been a mistake. A typo when the newspapers were printed.

Because there was no way she had been unconscious for four months.

April 5th.

The 5th of freaking April. She had missed Nico’s birthday!

God, Nico! He would be worried sick, she was supposed to come back relatively unharmed. And the quest! The world was standing, so she guessed they had succeeded.

“You all right, missy?” The newsie looked warily at her. “Need some water or something?”

Bianca shook her head. “I’m good. Thank you.”

She took a deep breath and walked back to the bus stop...

...to find a girl about to stab Chris Rodríguez with a javelin that looked very much demigodly.

“ Aspetta! ” Bianca yelled, startling both the girl and Chris. “What’s going on?”

The girl looked like she might attack Bianca, but a once over stopped her.

“You’re one of the Hunters of Artemis.” It wasn’t a question. “What are you doing with a traitor?”

Bianca thought back to what Chris had said, about camp. And how he’d spoken about Luke, as though they’d made some sort of deal.

“He’s not well,” Bianca said. “He found me in that maze. He saved me.”

The girl was around Chris’ age, and she was at least a head taller than Bianca, and then some. An Ares kid, maybe? They were pretty tall, from what Bianca had seen.

“Who are you?” The girl asked. “Last I checked, the Hunters didn’t send their own to such a filthy place like the Labyrinth.”

The girl spoke with undiluted hate. Apparently Chris wasn’t the only one who had suffered through that place.

“I’m Bianca di Angelo,” she said. “And that’s Chris Rodríguez.”

“I know who he is!” The girl scoffed. “Wait! Aren’t you the girl who died on that quest in winter? The boy who disappeared last December, he was your brother!”

“Disappeared?” Bianca’s throat closed with fear. “Disappeared where? What happened to him? Percy promised me Camp was safe!”

The girl seemed to realise she’d spoken too much. She sighed and grabbed a water bottle from her backpack.

“Here drink some,” she ordered. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I don’t want it,” Bianca tried to keep the edge out of her voice. Nico was missing. How could they have lost a 10 year old boy? Artemis had said camp was a safe place for demigods, and Percy and Thalia wouldn’t have let that happen! “Give it to Chris.”

Chris drank the whole thing.

The girl glanced at them and shrugged. “I guess you better come with me, then.”

“Where?”

“To a safe house.”

“We still don’t know your name,” Bianca reminded her.

To her utmost surprise, Chris stared right up at the girl and said, “She’s Clarisse, daughter of Ares.”

[percabethfeelsfandom]

Writing Prompt: Home

Percy stood by the bulletin board in the Big House, fingers tracing the edge of a photo of him, Annabeth and Grover. His sixteen-year-old face smiling widely at him with his arms thrown around Annabeth and Grover’s shoulders.

Seven years later, Percy still remembered taking the photo. The day before he was set to go back to Goode, his first time going to the same school two years in a row. The happiness that was in their features hadn’t lasted long. But it was nice that this moment was immortalised.

“Feeling nostalgic?”

Percy found a smile rising to his face as he saw Chiron duck his head to avoid hitting the doorframe, joining Percy to look at the other photos of campers that had accumulated over the years. Faces that Percy had grown up with, and new ones.

“Can’t help it. Every time I come here...it’s like travelling back in time.”

Percy removed his hand from the photo and let it drop to his side. Chiron gave him a small smile and looked fondly at the collage of photos. In the corner there was even a faded photograph of Chiron smiling smugly while Mr D held a goblet disapprovingly.

“Does it feel different coming back?” Chiron asked. Percy stepped away from the photos and went to stand in front of the window glancing out to look at the fields outside.

“Yeah. In a good way, but…” Percy sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to flatten it, “I feel bad I guess. That I left. This was home for so long.” His fingers itched to move so he brought them to the necklace that still hung around his neck. All the years later he still tried to wear it every day, even sometimes underneath his work clothes. The beads had a permanent place around his place and sat perfectly in the hollow of his throat, a constant familiar presence.

“You didn’t leave, Percy,” he reassured. Percy thumbed his first camp bead, staring at the glowing trident.

“Didn’t I?”

“No. You deserve a life outside of here. It’s because of you that you have a world to go to, you deserve a chance to live in it. It’d be foolish of you not to.”

“You make it sound like I did it alone,” he gestured to the photo collage, “Each of those people played a part. Every person that steps foot into camp played a part in that. They deserve to be out there too.”

“When they know what they’re up against then they can. Until then I will train them.”

“Don’t you ever wish we could do more?”

“Every day.”

“I feel like I ran away from the fight.”

“Every hero yields in the end. And yielding is not always a bad thing.”

“So why does it feel like it?”

“Why are you so full of doubt? You seemed so sure, so happy with your decision before.” Percy thought back to when he had finally managed to graduate high school, and made the final decision to go to college and move away from New York. The sharp pain that had settled in his chest when he had watched Camp grow smaller and smaller the further they went. The pain hadn’t eased till Annabeth had gripped his hand, reassuring him that they’d be back. That this wasn’t forever.

Percy sighed deeply and reached into his pocket to press his fingers against Riptide for comfort.

“Things have changed. And I guess- I’m scared,” Percy let out a choked laugh. Things had definitely changed if he was able to admit he was scared.

“Is everything okay?”

“Annabeth’s pregnant.”

Chiron’s eyes widened before his face broke out into a smile.

“Congratulations!” He reached down and patted Percy on the shoulder. But Percy didn’t mirror his smile. Slowly Chiron retracted his hand and gave him a questioning look.

“Are you not happy?”

Percy rushed to correct him, shaking his head wildly.

“Oh gods, I’m ecstatic, don’t get me wrong. But...Annabeth and I always said we wouldn’t have kids unless we were positive we’d be bringing them into a safe world...and now that we are- I don’t know if it’ll ever be safe. Like we’re demigods for Hades’ sake.”

“Is that why you came back?” Percy nodded.

“I don’t know anywhere safer than here. It’s like I never want to let her out of my sight.” Almost to prove his point Percy looked out to the fields again, trying to get a glimpse of Annabeth who was at her cabin, catching up with family members and any of the campers they had once trained with. Though he knew exactly where she was, Percy could feel the edge of anxiety heightening his senses, hyper-aware of any possible dangers.

“And I guess, I wanted advice. I know you don’t have kids of your own, but, you have this camp. When I wasn’t with my Mom and Dad, I had you. I already asked my Mom how she did it; how she lived with the fear of having a child in our world.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she loved me too much to ever feel scared.”

“That’s all a parent can do Percy.”

“That’s not very helpful,” he huffed. Chiron laughed and gestured to the doorway, leading the two of them out of the Big House and to the centre of camp where the cabins were.

“You asked me if I wished we could do more, to help them,” he nodded in the direction of campers in their orange shirts, playing volleyball, their laughter drifting in the wind. “Each day, for the years I have been alive, I give them my knowledge about protecting themselves, I teach them our history so that they may one day learn from our mistakes. I love them and watch them grow. Sometimes they leave and sometimes they use the knowledge I’ve passed on and they create a life of their own, and save the world along the way. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes what I’ve taught them isn’t enough...and they don’t. It’s an endless cycle when you think of it, this role I chose. But what more can I do when I have dedicated my life to this. The world still needs heroes, and as long as those heroes need guidance I will give it to them. What more can I do when I’ve given them a chance?”

“You were raised by a brilliant woman, Perseus, she gave you the best chance she could by loving you. The best you can do for your own child is the exact same. And with Annabeth by your side, I have no doubt you’ll achieve that.”

~

“Did you have a good talk with Chiron?” Annabeth asked as she pulled the blanket over her legs. Percy helped her adjust the sheets, tucking her in and sitting next to her. They’d been given the Poseidon cabin to stay at for the meantime; Percy’s two half-siblings on a quest together.

Though they visited every summer, being back in his old cabin, even in his old bed, was giving Percy an odd sense of deja vu.

Percy nodded, but his attention was elsewhere, noting all the new scratches and the weapons hung on the wall that didn’t belong to him. His heart went out to his siblings, the call for a quest, taunting him after so many years of him wishing it would be someone else when he was younger.

“Seaweed Brain?” Annabeth said softly. Percy turned to her fully and shook his head, trying to clear it with thoughts. Annabeth’s face was etched with concern, and Percy placed his hands over hers, which laid over her stomach that was starting to show.

“I’m okay.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it? Coming back after all this time,” she said looking around the cabin as well. Percy nodded again, readjusting himself in the bed so he could hold her closer.

“We visit every summer though,” he pointed out, but Annabeth shook her head and then leaned against his shoulder.

“It’s different, we’ll be here for a while, we don’t need to leave at the end. We don’t need to always look behind our shoulders, at least not for now. It’s nice.”

“Chiron said something today...I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

“Hmm?” Idly, Percy traced circles on her shoulder as he brought his arms around her.

“Something about giving heroes a chance, that’s what it all comes down to. Doesn’t it? No matter how good you are, powers, training, knowledge, all of that goes out the door, because it’s up to the Fates isn’t it?” Annabeth sat up straighter turning to him.

“I like to think we play a part in it as well, just because the Fates have a say, doesn’t mean all choices are taken away from us. We chose to leave camp. And I don’t regret that.” She said firmly.

“How’d you know I was thinking about that?”

“Because I know you, Perseus Jackson.”

“No matter what the Fates have in store for us, Percy, I’m willing to go through it. If it means I’m by your side. I know we didn’t want to come back to Camp, but is it so bad when it ensures our safety? This was our home growing up. It’ll be a great place for our child to grow up, then we can leave when it’s safe again.”

“We left because we thought we’d be safe. Now I’m wondering if we should’ve stayed so that we could’ve avoided coming back...does that make sense?”

“Perce.”

“Yeah yeah. I know. I’m not upset about being here exactly. But after everything, I just thought we’d done enough for the Fates to believe we could get a break from this world. Let us live in ignorance for a bit. It’s selfish but maybe we deserve to be a bit selfish?”

“I know.” She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Percy’s, closing her eyes.

She pulled back and pressed a kiss to his cheek before laying down, signalling that she was finished with this conversation. The pregnancy was constantly leaving her tired, and even now, Percy could see the purple beneath her eyes despite the excessive amount of hours she was sleeping. Carrying a demigod child was taking a toll on her, and it was slowly killing Percy. He made sure he tucked her in tightly before leaving his cabin and making the familiar trek to the water where his thoughts finally began to calm.

He looked out into the deep blue of the night, and the seemingly bottomless ocean.

“I know you’re listening, Father...I don’t think I want to talk. But if you could listen? I think I just need that,” Percy paused, waiting for a reaction. When he didn’t get one, he eased himself onto the sand and rolled up his pants so that he could dip his feet into the low tide.

“After the war, it was so hard for me to leave camp. Especially after Gaea took me. I felt that every time I left I’d come back and see my home in ruins. Everything I’ve done since I found out I was your child has been to preserve this Camp. It means more to me than a location probably should, but it was always there for me to come back to. But after Jason, I needed to leave. I was so tired of coming back to a camp and seeing one less face. I know it wasn’t my fault, but it felt like I was being taunted, that I couldn’t save him...because I was somewhere else. Leaving after college was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And now coming back, I’m scared that once I leave something bad is going to happen again. It’s not just Annabeth on the line anymore, I could risk it with her because she can protect herself but if our child is at risk? What do I do then?” The words were rushing out of Percy like a dam breaking, and he was stumbling and gasping over his words as tears welled up inside his chest, demanding to be released.

“Coming back means leaving. And I don’t think my heart can take it.”

There was a soft breeze and Percy felt the water at his feet grow colder. He looked up from where he had buried his face in his arms.

“You cannot let fear rule your life. Or you will forget to live.”

Percy scoffed at his Father and shook his head, not bothering to stand up. Other gods would have been offended, but Poseidon looked down sympathetically at Percy and sat down, lowering himself to Percy’s level.

“Let me rephrase that. Fear will always be a part of your life, it will always be there because you are my son and Annabeth is Athena’s daughter, you are Heroes of Olympus, and with that title, someone or something will always be hateful-”

“Is this meant to make me feel better?” Poseidon let out a chuckle and Percy rolled his eyes.

“Let me finish. Fear will always exist. But there are things that are more powerful than that. Think of your mother, her fear of Gabe, and her fear of monsters finding you when you were young...neither ever stopped her loving you, it made her fight harder to protect you. Your own fear of your prophecy didn’t stop you from fulfilling it, because you cared too much for your city and your friends. My own fear of my brother when you were accused of stealing the bolt didn’t stop me from claiming you. The same applies here. Your fear of coming back and leaving Camp Half Blood doesn’t make it any less your home. It will always protect you.”