#thornnii’s fics

[thornnii]

⎯ ☆ my girlfriend

genre: fluff wordcount: 0.9k pairing: percy jackson x fem!reader tags: based on 'my girlfriend' by TV Girl, daughter of hypnos!reader (she/her), use of [reader], from percy's perspective, minor gods have cabins, established relationship, they're like 15 in this, phones/devices don't attract monsters (eg. noise cancelling headphones) summary: sometimes she just struggles to get out of bed. she can’t help it. notes: noticing how both my percy fics have similar titles, anyway happy international sleep day!

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the sun was bathing camp half blood in a golden light as campers began exiting their respective cabins and heading towards the dining pavilion for breakfast. stepping out of his own cabin, percy was immediately engulfed in the wave of campers, but he did his best to push through the current of others toward the cabins of the minor gods. it had become routine for him by this point; wake up, get sorted for the day, go to cabin 15, drag [reader] out of bed, go for breakfast. percy wondered whether clovis would be up yet or not. who knew with hypnos kids. percy knew that if he didn’t go check up on [reader] she’d willingly hibernate like a bear throughout the winter.

percy knocked on the door to cabin 15, his mother had raised him to always be a gentleman. the door was opened slowly, revealing a bleary-eyed clovis who, upon recognising percy, ushered him in so he could close the door once more. percy liked the hypnos cabin. it always smelt warm and the soft violins made everything feel serene. it was an ironic comparison to personalisation of the beds; messy sheets, a collection of cups, plates and cutlery, clothes strewn around, as well as their own belongings from home. almost every bedside cabinet had either a pair of headphones upon it or a pair of ear plugs.

instantly, percy went over to [reader]’s bed. she was still asleep. of course. it seemed incredulous to percy that anyone would be able to sleep through the morning conch, but here was living proof that it were possible. percy gently shook [reader]’s shoulder to try and ease her out of her slumber. she let out some incomprehensible mumble before promptly rolling over and hiding her face in her pillow.

“c’mon,” percy coaxed, “gotta get up and get breakfast”

[reader] spoke into her pillow once more but this time percy could catch bits of what she was saying, “be fine without… don’t wanna get up… didn’t sleep good..”

“you need breakfast.” percy stood his ground, “and the reason you didn’t sleep well is because you never go to sleep at a reasonable time, it’s a wonder the curfew harpies haven’t caught you yet.”

“I’m too smart for them.” [reader] rebutted, finally turning to face percy and squinting her eyes at him.

“yes you are, now up.” percy quickly pulled the duvet away causing [reader] to let out groans and mumbled protestations at his actions. “come on.” percy reiterated, holding out his hands for [reader] to take. she continued to squint her eyes and scowl at him, but took his hands anyway.

“wash up and then we can go to breakfast” percy proffered.

“can’t I just go like this?” [reader] contested, gesturing to her pyjamas of fluffy black pyjama trousers and make-shift pyjama top of a vintage graphic tee.

percy raised an eyebrow, “you know you’ll get into trouble with chiron if you do.”

“when is getting in trouble an issue for you?” [reader] raised an eyebrow.

“please.” percy begged.

“percy, you’re lucky that I even got out of bed, besides it’s not like I really have any activities to do today, so why do I have to get changed?”

percy sighed, trying to reason, “how about you just change into the shirt? at least for breakfast?”

“fine. turn around.” [reader] motioned with her finger.

it was coming close to the end of breakfast when percy and [reader] finally entered the dining pavilion. since it was basically empty, the two sat together at the hypnos table. thankfully there was still some food left, but not as much as percy would’ve liked, especially after sacrificing some to the gods.

“considering you went out of your way to drag me here, are you actually going to eat or not?” [reader] asked as percy seemingly just stared at his food.

“yeah, yeah,” percy shook his head as he broke out of his reverie, “was just thinking.”

“about?” [reader] prodded.

“just… how do you go a day on so little food? if I didn’t wake you up in the mornings you’d sleep straight through breakfast.”

“I nap and I don’t do anything strenuous. I’d rather rot in bed than go on a quest. I don’t need a lot of energy. besides ‘girl dinner’.”

“it’s breakfast.” percy pointed out.

“whatever, not the point.”

percy rolled his eyes at his girlfriend and went back to eating. it wasn’t until the two were finished with their food and basically the only ones left in the pavilion did he ask:

“so, what are you going to do today?”

[reader] shrugged her shoulders, “dunno, might go to the arts and crafts centre. don’t have to do anything strenuous there.”

“want me to join you?” percy asked, gathering their plates to take back to the kitchen.

“you don’t have to, I know it’s not your favourite place, you could go to the sword-fighting arena to practise if you want. I’m probably going to end up falling asleep anyway.”

“cool. I’ll be there to wake you up if chiron or mr d come by.”

a smile spread across [reader]’s face. she gave percy a light smack on the shoulder before looping her arm through his and dragging him off to the arts and crafts centre. she could already feel her eyelids drooping as she walked, anticipating the peace and quiet of the crafts centre that would let her nap until lunch.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2024

[thornnii]

⎯ ☆ calico critters

genre: fluff wordcount: 1.4k pairing: percy jackson x fem!reader tags: daughter of hypnos!reader (she/her), same au as ‘my girlfriend’, established relationship, technology doesn’t attract monsters, tw for talk of food & eating summary: percy knew she didn't really like the cold but he was hoping that a little gift would help bring a smile to her face. notes: I'm english so it felt weird to write calico critters, but it just felt more appropriate for the story for some reason ?

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a chill wind permeated throughout camp as the various demigods that braved the outdoors found ways to keep themselves warm and moving. however most, those [reader] deemed sensible or sane - as sane as anyone at this camp could be, were tucked away inside. [reader] herself was in her cabin watching different video essays from youtube that piqued her interest. it was growing close to the end of lunch time and clovis was still gone, [reader] however had expressed that she wasn’t hungry and although clovis had attempted to convince her to join him, he knew it would be a waste of time trying to convince his stubborn sister.

[reader] had barely noticed the passing of time, her noise-cancelling headphones allowing her to block out everything around her and immerse herself in the video she was watching. that was why she never noticed the knocking that came from the door of cabin 15. it may have only just begun or it may have been going on for a minute.

percy felt like cursing his innate need to be polite for his girlfriend. it was cold and windy, and he’d forgotten a jacket when he left his own cabin earlier. after a minute or so of intermittently knocking on the door, percy decided he was going to have just open the door himself. he opened the door slowly, calling out [reader]’s name as he entered. it didn’t take him long to see why his knocks had gone unanswered from the headphones, to [reader]’s hunched posture over her laptop.

cautiously, percy stepped round to be in front of [reader], not wanting to startle her from behind. the movement in her peripherals caused [reader] to look away from her laptop, the sudden, to her, presence of her boyfriend causing her to jump slightly, blinking owlishly at something that wasn’t a pixelated screen after hours of being on youtube. “w-what are you doing here?” her voice was hoarse after not really speaking since she’d woken up, stumbling as she threaded the words together.

“you missed lunch,” percy said matter-of-factly. “so I brought you something.” percy pulled out a small tupperware container containing a sandwich and a bunch of grapes. upon seeing the food, [reader] began to feel hunger grabbing at her. she took the container from percy with a quiet mutter of thanks, taking small bites of the sandwich.

“how are you doing?” percy asked, only receiving shrugged shoulders as a response.

“I dunno, alright I guess. been watching video essays.” [reader] gestured to laptop screen which showed a youtube playlist of video essays on a multitude of different topics; the video that had been paused upon percy’s surprise appearance was titled ‘The Internet is Turning its Back on True Crime’ by Shanspeare.

“true crime?” percy raised an eyebrow.

“it’s interesting.” [reader] countered.

percy just shook his head with a sigh. he’d experienced [reader]’s stubbornness the hard way before and knew how fruitless it was to try and further the dispute. instead he reached into the big front pocket of his slightly baggy hoodie. “got something else for you too.” he eased a hand through his curls.

that caught [reader]’s interest. ‘what else could percy have?’

slowly he pulled out a little plastic bag, the ‘Calico Critters’ logo printed at the top and a group of the baby characters gathered at the bottom. the top was already slightly ripped open, and [reader] eyed it suspiciously. percy noticed the look and explained: “yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to get you a specific one so I had to check what was in there. took a couple of tries to get the right one.” (actually percy bought roughly $30 worth of the blind bags and definitely got some looks from the cashier and his mom, but if it ended up making [reader] happy percy was willing to spend his entire allowance.)

[reader] took the bag from percy’s hands, opening the gap at the top slightly wider and tipping the critter out into her awaiting palm. from the bag, a small black cat baby slid out. it fell face first into [reader]’s hand and she was quick to toss the now empty bag onto the bed beside her before gently picking up the tiny baby figure. soft black fur was wrapped up in a pastel yellow smock, the inside of its ears were pink under the black fuzz. at this point [reader] couldn’t hide her smile as she carefully stroked the baby's cheek with the back of her finger.

all percy could do was look on admiringly; at how [reader]’s eyes shone as she inspected the tiny animal, at how sweet her rare smile was, at how she cradled the baby in her hands. percy was getting lost in thoughts as he sat on the floor, lovingly gazing up at his girlfriend. it was [reader] that abruptly broke the silence.

“this means we’re parents now.”

now it was percy’s turn to look confused, until [reader] continued; “this is our baby.” she held the little black cat out to him, and now understanding her words, percy smiled along with his girlfriend.

“yeah. but if this is our baby that means we need to name it, any ideas?” [reader] took a moment to think before announcing decidedly: “star.”

“star?” percy parroted back, testing out the name.

“yeah, she’s got black fur like the void of space, and yellow is associated with the colour of stars.” [reader] explained.

“star it is then.” percy agreed.

standing up, percy stretched his limbs, sighing in satisfaction when he heard several cracks of his joints. choosing to ignore the muttered ‘ew’ that came from his girlfriend at the noises, he planted a quick kiss to her head and moved over to the cabin window just after the end of her bed. pulling back the thin cream curtains, percy craned his neck to look up at the sky above the camp. the dark skies from earlier in the day seemed to have mostly cleared and the winds had slowed down. “do you want to go outside for a walk?” percy asked, turning back to face [reader], stifling a snort of laughter at her disapproving expression. “c’mon.” percy came back over to her, taking the hand that didn’t hold star in his own, pulling her off the bed and leading her to the window. “the weather has cleared a bit and we could use it as an opportunity to show star around camp.”

“okay.” [reader] agreed, still not totally sold on the idea but enjoying the thought of spending more time with percy and their new child. [reader] was still in her pyjama trousers and camp top, so she handed star over to percy and went on the hunt for a jacket. she found an oversized jumper in the pile of clothes at the end of her bed and slung it on. percy held an arm out for [reader] and with a giggle she took hold of his forearm, resting her arm in the crook of his elbow.

stepping out of the cabin into the brisk afternoon air, the pair started off on their slow stroll, pointing out the different landmarks of camp to star as the passed each one. as they continued to walk, the skies continued to clear up, the weather warming up even as the wind continued to nip at their cheeks. the two walked aimlessly around for about an hour before they headed back to cabin 15. percy sat down on the bed first before pulling [reader] to sit with him. [reader] pulled her laptop into her lap like before and disconnected her headphones from it, playing the video so they could finish watching it together. having missed the beginning of the video, percy whispered multiple questions in her ear about what was going on, [reader] whispering answers back as if they were at a cinema and didn’t want to disturb the people around them, even if the only other one with them was star.

in percy’s warm embrace, it didn’t take long until [reader] began to feel tired, slumping in his arms and resting her head on his shoulder. the sight of his girlfriend being able to fall asleep so easily in his embrace made his heart swell and a blush creep onto his cheeks. pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of her head, percy moved carefully to close [reader]’s laptop and move it to the end of the bed, then carefully placing star onto [reader]’s bedside table before shifting to sit more comfortably against the headboard of her bed, making sure that [reader] was still laying comfortably on his chest.

[thornnii]

Saw that you request open so: show!percy jackson x daughter of Eris!reader set just after battle of the labyrinth?

⎯ ☆ chaos in the rain

genre: brief angst to fluff wordcount: 1.1k pairing: percy jackson x fem!reader tags: daughter of eris!reader (she/her pronouns), reader hiding out to avoid doing work to rebuild/repair camp after the battle against luke/kronos' army, set after the events of botl, established relationship, probably some inaccuracies summary: what started off as hiding from chores turns into a conversation about oranges notes: I AM SO SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!! I hope really hope you like this anon ♡♡

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camp was alive with activity after the battle between camp half-blood and luke, or rather kronos's, army. there was a fair amount of damage done to the camp and mr d and chiron had delegated jobs to fix the camp to the different cabins. [reader] sat with her feet dangling off the edge of the cliff by the netball court. technically she was meant to be helping the rest of the hermes cabin and the other unclaimed kids that she bunked with- not that she was unclaimed, she was claimed by her mother a while ago, but there was no cabin for eris at camp half-blood.

'it was like staring out over a beehive' [reader] concluded as she watched the rest of camp from her perch. she pulled her feet up to sit cross-legged before tugging her small satchel bag, filled with snacks she'd been storing up throughout the year, into her lap. it was odd, usually the girl would revel in chaos and destruction, but this time all she could feel was this weird hollowness that seemed to weigh her down as she munched on her stolen goodies. maybe it was because it wasn’t chaos by her hand, or that it had affected the people and the things she had grown to cherish. oh well, it wasn’t going to come to her now, maybe in hindsight whatever she was experiencing would be more obvious.

as [reader] ate and watched the activity of the camp below her a soft mist began to envelop camp half-blood. [reader]’s fellow campers stopped to look up at the sky, embracing the cold patter of rain compared to the humid air that still permeated the area post the violence it had just experienced. [reader] couldn’t imagine the immeasurable pain some campers may be feeling, losing a sibling in such a brutal way. with the negative thoughts swimming around her head, she reached for the golden apple keychain on her bag. a golden apple was one of eris's symbols and it always helped to calm [reader], to make her feel connected to her mother.

[reader] stiffened slightly at the almost indiscernible sound of light footsteps against the wet grass of the volleyball courts. almost as soon as her ears caught the sound, the rain that had been splashing down on her stopped. a small smile graced [reader]’s features. “hi percy.”

“how’d you know it was me?” she could hear the pout on his lips without even needing to turn around and see it.

“percy,” she finally turned around to face him, “there are only two children of poseidon at camp, and only you have been training to try and stop the rain. ever since you saw katara do it in avatar.” [reader] mumbled the last part. percy gave a laugh and landed a playful slap to [reader]’s shoulder as he sat down beside her. she just smiled.

[reader] pulled her hoodie closer around her. even though percy had created a small rainless bubble for them, the wind was still cold as it swept through camp. percy must’ve seen the chill run through [reader] as he pulled her closer to him, resting her head on top of his shoulder. “some agent of chaos you are.”

the two sat there for a while just watching their fellow demigods flitter about. the dark sky of the early morning began to be tinted with dusty pinks and vibrant oranges as the sun made its first peak over the horizon. it was a stupidly peaceful moment considering all that had just passed, but, nevertheless, it was welcomed.

the relationship between [reader] and percy had many raising their eyebrows, wondering how anyone could possibly feel stable with a child of eris. but percy accepted [reader]’s chaotic nature with open arms. and while [reader] encouraged percy to be more impulsive and reckless (than he already was), percy helped to ground [reader]. yin and yang.

“orange slice?” [reader] offered.

“got a blue one?” percy joked as he took the slice presented to him.

“if I find a blue orange, I promise I will get it for you.” [reader] grinned, placing a chaste kiss to the blond’s cheek.

“do think it’s actually possible to turn and orange blue?” percy’s eyebrows were now scrunched in thought as he genuinely considered his question. yet it fell on deaf ears. the sun was continuing to rise as it washed camp half-blood in its soft glow, but all [reader] could focus on was the way it illuminated percy’s features, how it made his eyes sparkle. it wasn’t until percy turned to face [reader] properly that she realised he was waiting for her to reply.

“sorry, what’d you say?” she blushed.

“I was wondering if a blue orange was actually possible.” percy repeated.

“I doubt it. besides you wouldn’t really be able to call it an orange anymore if it wasn’t orange.” [reader] grinned toothily at the absurdity of the question. “also I’d be kinda concerned about the taste.”

“what d’you mean ‘the taste’?”

“well aren’t you putting, like, food colouring or whatever in it to change the colour?”

percy shook his head, “no, I’m talking about a naturally occurring blue orange.”

[reader]’s eyebrows creased in further confusion. “I think naturally occurring is impossible, perc. it’s gonna have had to been changed magically or artificially or something, y’know. and even if you did find this infamous blue orange anyway, what would you call it?”

“a blue.” it was said with such confidence that it caught [reader] off-guard for a second. not that she was really sure why she should’ve been expecting anything else.

“a blurange.” she countered.

“blurange?” percy repeated, his previous confidence replaced with confusion.

“sure. if we are setting this in a world where blue oranges aren’t the norm then it makes sense to brand it as something that people already know, so you take ‘blue’ and ‘orange’ and smash ‘em together: ‘blurange’.” as [reader] explained her side of it percy couldn’t help but nod along. what she said made sense, but…

“but ‘blue’ is funny, cause it’s, like, ironic and shit.” percy crossed his arms and pouted like a toddler that had just been told ‘no’ to a new toy. it made [reader] smile at her boyfriend’s silliness. she gave him another quick kiss to the cheek which only seemed to cause his pout to deepen and her smile to widen.

“agree to disagree?” she held the final slice of orange out towards him like a peace offering.

percy took the slice, stuffing it in his mouth in one and muttering a muffled ‘agreed’.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2024

[thornnii]

⎯ ☆ she's my girlfriend

genre: platonic, fluff wordcount: 0.6k pairing: percy jackson x older sister!reader tags: older sister/daughter of poseidon!reader (she/her), all poseidon children contain Ryan Reynolds level sass, inspired by this, swearing (obviously), percabeth summary: percy introduces his older sister to his girlfriend notes: short & sweet

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ancient greek sucked ass [reader] decided as she stared down at her notebook. her handwriting was messy and rushed from frustration as she compared her work to that of the textbook balanced precariously on her knee that she was learning from. in no way did she expect the learning process to be quick and/or easy, but it would have helped if greek characters weren’t such a hassle to draw in the first place. shutting both books with a sigh, [reader] instead pulled her reading book from her bag. it was a book annabeth had recommended a few months ago and it wasn’t until [reader] had been on a quest in maine that she’d had the chance to purchase the book and see if it really was as good as the young athena girl’s recommendation. not that she had any doubts, annabeth always gave the best reading recommendations.

[reader] spent the next few hours getting lost within the world that the pages of her book created. it was a fantasy story, a rare recommendation from annabeth who seemed to prefer nonfiction books. it had been roughly 2 hours since [reader] started the book and the sun had begun it’s descent towards the ocean as the breeze began to cool. [reader] took this as a sign to take her belongings back to her cabin before dinner was called. placing the receipt for the book as a bookmark, [reader] packed the book away and headed off towards cabin 3.

there were very few other campers by the cabins, most were trying to squeeze in a few more minutes before dinner to get their training or some other chore done. cabin 3 was seeming empty as [reader] walked up to the heavy wooden door, though her opinion was quickly changed when she pushed the door open. inside the cabin sat both her half-brother percy and annabeth. the pair were cuddled up on percy’s bed, seemingly having been reading together, but their eyes had snapped away from the book and towards the door upon [reader]’s entrance.

“what in the fuck knuckles is this?” [reader] raised an eyebrow, shutting the door behind her.

percy rolled his eyes at his sister’s blunt question before responding, “she’s my girlfriend, you intolerant shit.” he wrapped a protective arm around annabeth.

once again all [reader] could do was raise her eyebrow and stifle a giggle at her brother’s antics. “pump the hate-breaks, fox and friends.” [reader] put up a hand in surrender, “I’m just surprised anyone would date you, especially miss wise girl over here.”

percy frowned at his sister using his nickname for annabeth. not that the girl in question minded, she was trying and failing to suppress a wide grin from adorning her features at the poseidon siblings’ banter. “well, she is dating me so…” percy ended his sentence by flipping the bird at his sister, who just laughed. annabeth joined in with the older girl’s laughter and percy pouted in response.

percy opened his mouth to defend himself but before he could get a word in, he was interrupted by the call for dinner. [reader] dropped her bag on her bed before calling to the pair, “c’mon, might as well get there before we’re left with crumbs to pick from.” as she made her way to the dining pavilion.

a smile graced [reader]’s features as she walked. she was happy that her brother had found someone good and strong as a partner, and she already knew that if the couple ever argued she’d take annabeth’s side, no questions asked. [reader] was grateful for the few minutes it took to walk to the dining pavilion where she could have a moment of peace from her brother. she knew that as soon as the two were sat by themselves at the poseidon table that she would be getting an earful from percy. oh well.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2024

[thornnii]

⎯ ☆ culture shocks

genre: platonic, fluff wordcount: 2.6k pairing: platonic!pogues x gn!reader tags: british!reader, exchange student!reader, reader is staying with the heywards, you/yours pronouns / 2nd person pov, underage drinking & smoking, swearing, does not stick to canon/pre-canon summary: a collection of moments where reader experiences some sort of culture shock while in america notes: it was weirdly harder than I expected it to be to come up with ideas. may end up doing a part two at some point

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being a part of an extra-curricular exchange student program wasn’t something you’d always planned on doing, but with your english language a-level it was too good an opportunity to pass up. the only thing that put a damper on your excitement was the fact that you’d be going alone. it’s not that no one else in your class was taking part in the exchange student program, it was just unfortunate that you were the only one being sent to a small island called kildare on the east coast of the usa; it was quote-unquote “paradise on earth”. you were going to be staying with the heyward family. from what you were able to gather from the internet the outer banks was a string of barrier islands off the coast of north carolina and south-eastern virginia, a popular tourist destination, and seeing the differences in how the locals interacted with each other, along with how they interacted with tourists would be interesting and beneficial to your studies.

you finished packing up your suitcases, sitting on them as you zipped them up to try and squeeze in as much of your belongings as possible for this trip. the school only permitted two large suitcases and a carry-on bag for the trip, so it was vital to you that you packed everything you deemed essential for this trip to america; a brimming pencil case, at least two notebooks, your laptop, tablet, headphones, two different books, your journal, and anything else you could think of to keep you entertained during the 11+ hour fight. everything else that you wanted to take with you, such as half your wardrobe, your skincare and makeup supplies, and a plentiful supply of snacks, was distributed between your two suitcases.

at 8am the next morning, all students from your year were stood out at the front of school, waiting for the coach that would come and take you to the airport for your 10am flight. you hoped that there would be no delays. the coach ride was long and bumpy but being with your friends and classmates made it more bearable. you all went your separate ways at the airport, saying goodbye to each other and your teachers that had chaperoned the ride for the next few months.

your flight landed at 9:27pm at norfolk international airport and you were greeted outside the terminal by pope, who you’d started a penpal correspondship with as a part of the exchange student program, and an older man who you assumed to be his father. pope held up a large cardboard sign with your name painted, somewhat neatly, in bright colours. despite the slight feeling of embarrassment that swept through you, you couldn’t help the smile that appeared on your face. you walked over and greeted the pair, mr heyward offering to help you pick up your suitcases and load them into his truck.

the ferry ride from the mainland to the island didn’t take that long in comparison to your flight, but the jet lag seemed to make time feel as if it were crawling by instead. when you reached the heyward’s house, pope helped you to carry your luggage to the guest room that had been tidied up for your stay. unpacking took the better part of an hour with the occasional need for some rearranging, but finally all your belongings were safely stored.

pope introduced you to his group of friends the next day. there was jj maybank; a loud and boisterous blond, john b routledge; an easygoing brunette, and finally kiara carrera; a strong-minded beach lover even if she was technically from the rich side of the island, ‘figure eight’.

almost as soon as you’d opened your mouth to greet them, they’d begun asking about your accent. you explained about where you were from and therefore your accent which was followed by the dreaded “is that near london?” question, which you answered reluctantly. then jj was asking you about pronunciation, or rather he was asking you to say the ’stereotypically british’ phrases that floated around on the internet, such as ‘it’s tuesday, innit?’ and ‘a bottle of water.’. you had no idea if how you’d answered had been what he’d expected, but he seemed happy enough with your response.

something that seemed to surprise the pogues was the language that you used. obviously, the pogues were no strangers to swearing in conversation, but sometimes they seemed caught off guard by just how much you swore and the explicit words you used. more than once you’d have to explain to them how a lot of british language was based upon sarcasm and insults, even if they were meant in an affectionate or playful way.

such a moment was illustrated when you were on a call with one of your friends from england. it was noon back home so early in the morning in the obx; thankfully it was the weekend so you didn’t have to worry about any school related obligations. your friend was catching you up on events that had transpired since your departure, mainly gossip, and the pogues were curiously watching how you reacted to the news you were receiving. after one bit of slightly incredulous news you couldn’t help the retort of “that fat cunt!” slipping out. they all looked over at you shocked, but you hadn’t even noticed the looks your language had caused.

your call was over shortly after that, both you and your friend having other things that needed your attention. as you hung up the call, you finally noticed the expressions of your state-side friends. 

“what?” you breathed out in a sort of nervous-confusion.

“you just called someone a ‘fat cunt’.” Kiara said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“ah, right. okay.” you realised what she meant. “I didn’t mean that in the way you think. like she is a cunt but she’s not fat. I meant ‘fat’ as in how much of a cunt she is, is fat.” you explained. you had no idea if they understood your explanation but you hoped they did, otherwise you were going to seem like a massive cow.

“gonna be honest, I always thought that calling someone a ‘cunt’ was more of an australian thing.” jj interrupted your thoughts. his words made you shrug, “the british too, i guess. especially if you live up north.”

a week passed. you were beginning to feel settled in at the local high school you went to with Pope, who had introduced you to the rest of his friends. pope had talked about some sort of bonfire party that would be held on the beach. it was gathering that all on the island were welcome to, ‘kooks’, ‘pogues’ and ‘tourons’ alike. picking up the colloquial language and customs were easy with how much the division of the upper and lower class penetrated the island, you already had nearly half a notebook full of annotations about the different language use. this congregation of everyone on the island was an academic opportunity too good to give up. though you’d probably just have to try and recall things from memory, taking a notebook wouldn’t really be fit for a party.

the bonfire was in full swing when you and the others pulled up to the beach in john b’s old vw camper van, lovingly referred to as the ‘twinkie’. there were a few kegs of beer strewn around the beach and a few dozen cigarettes were lighting up the still dark of the night sky like fireflies. music was playing from a pair of large bluetooth speakers, some random, probably pre-made, spotify playlist so loud that the bass pushed the thoughts out of your head. a group of people had created a dance area by the speakers, so close that it was almost impossible to hear the person next to you over the throbbing of the music. many were singing along to the music as they danced.

the dancing didn’t interest you to begin with, opting instead to grab one of the infamous plastic red cups, so often seen in movies, filled with a cheap beer. as you took a sip you felt an arm wrapped around your shoulders. in your peripheral you saw the blond mop of hair that belonged jj, the arm around you holding a burning joint whilst the other held a beer of his own. he noticed the scrunch of your nose as you sipped you drink, pulling the red cup away from your lips as though it had offended you, and laughed at the expression.

“what’s the matter? beer too cheap for you?” he asked.

“nah, it’s not that. beer’s weak is all.” you replied.

“weak?” he pulled back slightly as he asked, looking at you directly.

“yeah. what percentage is it? like a 2%?”

“dunno. probably something like that.”

“drunk stronger.” you shrugged and took another sip.

jj just watched with an impressed smirk. the two of you remained in a comfortable silence for a few minutes longer, sipping your respective beers and sharing the burning weed. you’d seen kie drag pope and john b to the dance area a few songs ago, but were now unable to identify them amongst the ever growing mass of dancers that had concentrated over by the speakers. just then you heard an all too familiar song intro. it had you straightening up, blocking out whatever jj was saying to focus on the song. you were half certain you had misheard, but no, without a doubt, ‘mr brightside’ by the killers was playing.

“holy shit, it’s mr brightside!” you all but squealed.

“mr what? what- where are you going?” jj yelled as you took off across the beach towards the music.

it had caught you completely off guard that mr brightside had started playing, despite the fact that you knew the killers were from la, mr brightside was such a classic british song, you’d hear at the pub, every school disco, year 11 prom, sixth form prom and any other opportunity where music could be played. you were yelling the lyrics from the top of your lungs by the time you’d reached the crowd. since the song wasn’t as popular in america as it was in england part of the crowd had dispersed and it was thanks to this that you were able to locate kiara, pope and john b so quickly. kie began singing and swaying with you to the music, behind her jj was running up and weaving through the remaining throng of people. the pogues smiled at your display of excitement, it showed how comfortable you’d become in the short time you’d been in the states.

you and the rest of the pogues were having dinner over at john b’s house, ‘the chateau’. everyone had agreed to chip in to help in one way or another; pope was providing the food in the first place from his dad’s store, kie was going to bring over her family’s slow cooker for the vegetables, jj was going to barbecue roast the lamb chops, and you were going to cook the potatoes. since it was a sunday and the rest of the ingredients were there, apart from gravy but you refused to go near american gravy, you decided to do roast potatoes. a make-shift sunday roast if you will. kiara didn’t take long with the veg, just under 20 minutes and you were only 5 minutes behind her with the potatoes. you and kie dished up the food you two had respectively prepared just as jj called through that the lamb was done. you and the others took your plates out to him to get dished up, kie taking her own plate as well as jj's.

you’d all decided to eat outside, and all though the others were used to the coastal humidity it still got to you during the evening where there was nothing to do, nothing to keep your mind off the blazing heat. basic conversation was flowing through the group as you ate your food until jj called out to you glanced in jj's direction and saw him practically inhaling his meal.

“christ jj, you don’t need to scoff your food that fast. it ain’t going anywhere.” you commented with a raised brow.

“I’m whatting my food?” jj asked, mouth full.

“first of all, swallow.” you waited until he complied before continuing, “second of all, I said that you were scoffing your food. when someone is trying to inhale their food, like eating without chewing.” you explained before your attention was taken away by something else you hated about the island’s warm climate; the inescapable onslaught of mosquitos.

“fucking midges.” you muttered, squashing the one approaching your food between your hands.

“what’s that?” kiara asked.

“hmm, oh it’s nothing, just complaining to myself about the midges, the mosquitos.” you clarified.

the conversation petered off into small nothings again until everyone was finished. you and pope were taking the plates inside as kiara cleaned up the slow cooker as best she could before having to return home with it. john b and jj followed the three of you in, john b saying to the room at large: “you three did a great job with the food.” jj clapped him on the back while you and kie gave your thanks over your shoulders.

“yeah, although I thought you were gonna do boiled potatoes?” pope asked you.

“was going to, but since it’s a sunday and the rest of the food is pretty much the same, thought I’d do roasties, felt like a taste of home having a sunday roast.” pope nodded, understanding that it was probably a comfort to your homesickness.

something that had caught you off guard the minute you’d arrived in america was the truth of how in movies or tv shows most people left their shoes on inside the house. it was more than likely that if you were to try that at home you’d get skinned alive by your parents.

the first time you’d stumbled upon this fact was when you arrived at the heyward's house on your very first night in outer banks. as soon as you stepped into the house in front of pope, who was helping you to carry in your belongings, you began to take off your shoes. pope noticed what you were doing and laughed under his breath at your actions, “you don’t need to take your shoes off, y’know.” you glanced at him and then down at your shoes, “it's a habit, I guess.” you shrugged.

another time that you were reminded of this difference was when you visited john b’s house for the first time. the floors at the chateau were rough and wooden, meaning that bare feet would be at constant threat of splinters if one was to take their shoes off. you’d gotten used to wearing slippers or just socks around the heyward house since their floors were laminated, but around the chateau it was safest to keep shoes on, no matter how innately wrong it felt.

in a way, not taking shoes off was beginning to grow on you, even if you would rather take that to the grave than admit it out loud. it saved time since the pogues were almost always on the move and staying outside more often than they were indoors. a downside was that it did make your feet feel kinda gross staying in shoes all day without a proper chance at breathing. another con was the production of blisters that appeared on your ankles from the constant wear.

it also meant that you were going through socks like wildfire. at least one pair a day, sometimes more if you went to the beach where clothing easily got soaked. you missed the laminated and carpeted floors of home where socks were only soaked from a downpour of rain.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2023

[thornnii]

show!percy jackson x athena kid!reader?? set during sea of monsters?? maybe where she was like wronged by her mother and he asks why she never talks about what god she descended from plsplspls

⎯ ☆ you're on your own, kid

genre: fluff to brief angst to fluff wordcount: 1.5k pairing: percy jackson x fem!reader tags: daughter of athena!reader, shitty mum!athena, kinda from percy's pov, she/her pronouns for reader but no use of [reader], som as an age reference, they're both crushing but they're both so oblivious, puppy love ♡ summary: percy had never heard you talk about your mother and he really wanted to find out why. curiosity taught the cat, or something, right? notes: I am SO SORRY for the wait!!! but I really hope you like this anon x

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percy had never heard her talk about her mother. when he was first introduced to her he was leaning into the belief that she was one of the unclaimed kids that found a home in the hermes cabin, it wasn't until he noticed that she sat at the athena table that that idea was debunked. she was sat quiet in the crowd of her siblings, mostly pushing the food around her plate rather than eating.

her quietness about her godly descent had percy interested. most people he’d met at camp had been open about their godhood, but she was the polar opposite. unclaimed kids couldn’t wait for the day their parent finally took notice of them, but it seemed like she wanted nothing more than to slip back into the shadows of her mother’s mind. if athena’s mind even had any shadows to hide in…

percy had first properly met her last year when she’d been selected to join him for a quest. it had been awkward at first. neither of them really knew what to say to the other considering their parents relationship. although percy didn’t know much about greek mythology back then, she knew enough that she allowed it to taint her perception of the boy, seeing him through rose-tinted glasses, as it were. yet, somehow, during the quest he’d still managed to slip past some of her defences with his sarcasm and witty remarks. and his charm, if you were to ask percy. shortly after the two had formed an unlikely friendship, consisting mostly of the pair spending quality time together during their activities around camp. you’d always take it turns of who decided the activity to keep it fair. percy would mostly choose sword-fighting or swimming, whereas she’d choose to teach him more about the mythological world he was thrown into all those months ago, telling him of stories about his father or of the other olympians. percy noticed however that whenever she recounted stories to him, she always tended to avoid those which involved athena.

it was late on summer night, as the sun began to slip under the horizon, that percy found her sitting on the top most bench of the amphitheatre, gazing out at how the sun reflected on the lazy ocean waves. in fact she was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she failed to recognise percy approaching, taken off guard when she finally noticed him as he sat down beside her.

“hey.” he greeted her softly, and she smiled back at him.

“hey yourself, jackson.” came her reply, her voice just as soft as soft as his own he’d been and yet it still managed to send a gust of butterflies through his stomach.

“what’cha doing out here?” he asked following her gaze back across the sea.

“wanted somewhere peaceful, y’know? and I thought here would give me some time before mr d or chiron came to force me to bed.”

“don’t wanna deal with curfew harpies.” percy finished, nodding solemnly as he spoke and she couldn’t help the snicker that passed between her lips at his words. somehow percy always managed to make her feel at ease. she was certain he must be aware of it, how he made a blush rise to her cheeks, how he made her feel more relaxed than she’d ever felt before meeting him, but in truth? percy was dense. oh, he was so dense! especially when it came to romantic feelings. he didn’t know how to decipher his own feelings let alone work out someone else’s.

the golden-haired boy’s smile grew when he heard her laugh. it was a rare sound that few were ever blessed to hear because whenever she laughed, truly laughed, it was impossible to mistake it for anything other than genuine. percy rested his head against her shoulder as they both continued to stare at the mix of blue and gold. the silence was serene until percy’s voice once more floated into the scenery: “can I ask you something?”

“of course you can.” she replied, still not turning away from the setting sun.

“you have to promise you will answer truthfully, and that you won’t try to change the subject.” he sounded more serious now, his head lifted from its resting place on her shoulder, which began to feel cold without him there, instead turning to face her directly. she raised an eyebrow, suddenly slightly weary of what he may ask. “of course.” she still replied diligently.

percy held out his pinky and she smiled at the gesture. it had been years since anyone had made a pinky promise with her and the nostalgia of it poured over her as her own pinky snaked around his.

“I- I wanted to know why you never speak about your mother.” percy stumbled over his words slightly, nervous now that he was actually doing this, “I totally get if you don’t want to say, I was just curious since almost everyone else is always talking about their godly parent or which god they think they’re descendent from if they’re unclaimed. and, I mean- I thought you were unclaimed for a while cause I just never saw you doing anything that could link you back to athena, and-“ percy was rambling now. more to the point, percy knew he was rambling, he just didn’t know how to get his mouth to stop. at least not until she fixed him with a pointed look and his mouth clamped shut like a vice.

the girl gave a big sigh as she thought over how to answer percy’s question. it wasn’t what she’d expected and it definitely was one that she’d rather have changed the subject about, but she had promised and she would be damned if she broke it. “I used to really look up to my mother. she’s the goddess of wisdom, goddess of strategy and warfare. I thought she was the coolest person I could ever have for a mom, until I got my first quest.

“it was a little before you arrived at camp, I was sent to find and retrieve athena’s aegis that had fallen from olympus. I don’t know how. I ended up in roswell, new mexico, which for future reference is like a magnet for monsters, unfortunately I learnt that the hard way.” the girl had a rueful smile on her face now and percy was sympathetic. he knew that what he asked was unlikely to bring up any good memories, but he didn’t want to see her hurt. he took one of her hands in his own, smoothing his thumb over her knuckles to ground her.

her smile grew at his gesture before she continued. “I got ambushed when I attempted to retrieve the shield. I managed to find a safe hiding spot where I could gather my thoughts and work out a retreat plan. I also tried praying to my mother, asking her for guidance and protection in order to escape. my prayers weren’t answered. I had to fight off the monsters by myself. I was not in a good shape when I finally reached olympus to return the aegis.

“my mother didn’t say anything about the quest at all, about how her aegis had fallen or about my prayer. she just took the shield and dismissed me back to camp.” she sighed. “it was in that moment that I knew my mother didn’t really care about me, as long as I got her quests done, that was all that mattered.”

percy had no words, it’s not that didn’t know what to say, he understood how she felt, rather he didn’t know how to articulate them properly. all he could do was squeeze her hand reassuringly, silently telling her that he knew where she was coming from. and honestly, that was all she needed from him. percy was a good comforter, somehow always knowing what it was she needed from him, whether it be being in his presence listening to him yap or whether it was a moment like this, where the two of you were sat cuddled up together in comfortable silence.

percy didn’t know quite how long they sat on the stone bench but the sun had almost disappeared entirely under the horizon when she gave his hand a final squeeze. “we should go to bed before the harpies start patrolling.” percy nodded his head and stood up, offering his hand to the girl before him. he led her back across camp to cabin 6, stopping and turning to face her outside the greet wooden doors. percy placed a chaste kiss to her forehead, both of them smiling softly as they wished each other goodnight. she slipped through her cabin’s doors, blowing a kiss to percy as she disappeared. he smiled, he hadn’t meant to make her feel uncomfortable earlier but he was glad she was happier now. the poseidon cabin wasn’t far from the athena cabin and as he made his way through the doors he hoped his late return wouldn’t wake tyson. percy stood still for a moment, testing to see if his half-brother had woken upon his entrance, but it seemed that he was still asleep. percy quietly got ready for bed, his curiosity satiated for the night while he looked forward to spending some peaceful (as peaceful as it could ever be at camp half blood) quality time with his girlfriend.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2024

[thornnii]

⎯ ☆ tall x short

genre: fluff wordcount: 0.8k pairing: remus lupin x gn!reader tags: short reader, you/yours pronouns, implied gryffindor reader

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thinking about tall remus lupin.

remus lupin who towers over his friends, friends who definitely abuse this for scary dog privileges, parading around without a care as remus walked along behind them, glaring at anyone who looks at his friends wrong. it’s in his nature to be protective.

but omg, the way his protectiveness increases tenfold when he has a partner. he would always be walking close behind, able to see over your head, and would always keep a hold of you somewhere, either on your shoulder, around your waist or holding your hand as you lead him through crowds.

even though he looks like this big, scary giant, he’d be a complete softy when in comfortable privacy with you. he’d go where you want to go, following without complaint. (his friends would definitely tease him about this)

also if you were big on fashion, he would let you style him, and then steal those clothes. remus’ clothes would absolutely swamp you though; a sweater on him would be like a woolly dress on you, sleeves going straight past your hands. sharing clothes would be completely impractical, remus wouldn’t fit into anything of yours and although you could steal and snuggle up in remus’ tops, trying on any of his trousers would be impossible, the waist going up to the middle of your torso while the legs continue on past your ankles. so you stick to stealing remus’ sweaters, revelling in the warmth they provided against the chill scottish weather and how much they smelled like remus; chocolate, pine wood and cigarette smoke.

since there is such a large height difference between you and remus, remus would always be the big spoon, wrapping you up in his arms while you cling to him like a koala. he’d rest his chin on top of your head, probably reading as you grew sleepy from the warmth your boyfriend provided and the soft deepness of his voice, reading to you as if this were a bedtime story.

if you were okay with remus smoking around you he’d always make sure that he blew the smoke out above your head while you sat, either curled up into him, or sat with your back to his chest as you read your own book, occasionally looking out across at the shining stars against the midnight sky. if you also smoked, you’d probably still be sat in one of the aforementioned positions with remus, and he’d still blow the smoke out over your head, but whenever you took a drag, he would rest his chin on top of your head, glancing over the page you were reading.

the amount of time you two spend in the library could be considered concerning. it would be like every free moment you two would be hidden away between bookshelves, either studying together or just reading together in silence. remus would always get any book off a high shelf for you, willing to grab anything higher up than see you risk injuring yourself if you tried standing on a chair or table to reach a book. he would do this for any sort of shelf, whether a bookshelf or the shelves of ingredients in potions, no matter how much you’d pout and tell him you were more than capable of managing on your own, he’d just smile, kiss the top of your head and get it for you anyway.

would remus lupin tease you about the height difference? whenever he got the chance. would he glare at anyone else who dared try teasing you? absolutely.

even though I previously said that you would cling to remus like a koala, he would also do the same; long arms would be loosely draped around you on moment and wrapped tightly the next, with no warning whatsoever. he’d randomly come up to you in the common room and give you a snug hug, one that would squeeze the air out of your lungs before he’d relax and just keep close to you as you went back to whatever it was you had been doing before he’d randomly interrupted you.

this man would just be so whipped and so cuddly once he was comfortable with you and being in a relationship. it may take some time for remus to become comfortable considering what he’s dealt with in his past, but with your help he’d definitely learn to become open in his affection. it may not be much in public, but he would always want to be touching some part of you in private; you ground him, you stop him from getting lost in his own head when days get bed (eg. days leading up to a full moon and days just after one). you are this man’s safe place, he can’t imagine how he got through his days before you entered his life.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2024

[thornnii]

⎯ ☆ kilby girl

genre: fluff wordcount: 3.9k pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader tags: she/her pronouns & use of [reader], daughter of athena!reader, underage drinking, reader has a fake id, reader has piercings, talk of past fighting (reader was on a quest, capture the flag, etc.) summary: 'i overheard that she was 19, got a fake id and a nose ring. those kinda girls tend to know things, better than i do.' just because she was a smart girl, didn't mean she was a good girl notes: gotta love doing work experience with 6yr olds and then getting into a writing slump

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the sound of clashing swords was nothing uncommon at camp half-blood. kids would practise sparing from the break of dawn to the call of curfew, suiting up in armour, picking up a sword and training for perfection. children of all godly parents, claimed or unclaimed, would spar for hours in preparation for capture the flag. capture the flag was one of luke castellan’s favourite camp activities. his team, the blue team, almost always won and he loved the ego boost. the only thing that soured his mood as he practised was the fact that [reader] wasn’t there with him. she'd been on a quest for just over four weeks now and had missed celebrating her birthday at camp. luke knew annabeth had been upset about that, annabeth looked up to [reader], more than she did with any of her other half-siblings.

capture the flag was never the same without [reader] there in luke’s eyes. the two had always had a playful rivalry that bloomed during camp activities, and grudgingly, luke had to admit that it kept him more motivated to win than anything else. luke would also never admit it to anyone else, he barely admitted it to himself, but he couldn’t deny the forlorn feeling that had been brewing in his gut in [reader]’s absence.

last night he’d overheard chiron saying that [reader] was due to return to camp within the next few days. and just like that, the invisible weight of loneliness that had rested upon luke’s shoulders, weakening his attacks, eased and lifted, translating through the fluidity of his parries. before her departure, [reader] had made a promise to look over annabeth in her absence. of course luke agreed with zeal, he already considered annabeth as a little sister, but the warmth that flooded his face as he thought of the trust and respect that [reader] must hold for him to come to him for the protection of her little sister.

the unexpected clash of a sword against his own caused him to stumble backwards and out of his reverie. annabeth stood before him with her sword half raised and slightly out of breath. she’d found him after breakfast and asked to train with him. luke never could say no to annabeth, but as lunch drew closer he was beginning to think about calling the session quits.

[reader] walked into mr d’s office to announce her return to camp and the successful completion of her quest. it had taken her slightly longer than expected and the journey from long island, new york to hollywood, california definitely did not help. the girl held a large, dark tote bag close to her side, cursing in her mind every time a clink came from the bag, and with every clink mr d would glance at the bag knowingly. letting out a final curse under her breath, [reader] pulled a dark green bottle from the bag. she should’ve known she wouldn’t be able to sneak wine past the god of it himself.

[reader] hurried to get back to her cabin after her time away, wanting to store away the purchases she’d made while away from camp. like most campers, she’d smuggled some souvenirs from her travels back to camp with her, for example a bottle of wine that had had to have been handed over in exchange for silence about it from chiron. she dropped her tote bag onto her small bed in the athena cabin and began pulling the various items out to store away and arrange in her bedside cabinet; a new notebook, a collection of polaroid photos, some jewellery, a new sketchbook for annabeth, and a loose receipt. the notebook was placed in the cabinet while the sketchbook, polaroids and the jewellery sat on the bed. also in the bag was [reader]’s wallet which she quickly stuffed the receipt in, barely sparring a second glance at the fake id that sat snuggly in the purse.

sliding the bag and its few remaining contents carefully under the bed and against the cabinet, the girl straightened up. it was late and the sky was beginning to turn a smokey orange, dinner wouldn’t be long now. [reader] picked up her bright orange camp half-blood tee and the jewellery she’d bought in la. once the t-shirt was on and her hair was pulled back, [reader] removed the clear nose stud she’d had in for her quest and exchanged it for the nose ring she’d bought while away. once the piercing was secure, [reader] fixed her hair and threw on a grey hoodie to brave the cooling weather of new york evenings. finally she scribbled a short message out on a yellow post-it note, before stuffing it into the pocket of her hoodie.

just as [reader] began making her way towards the door, annabeth walked in the athena cabin. the younger girl had her head down as she entered and didn’t yet notice her councillor’s presence, but when she raised her gaze and saw the older girl she let out a gasp, running up to [reader] and caging her in a hug.

“you’re back!” annabeth exclaimed with a grin painting her face. it always made [reader]’s heart swell to see the younger girl, typically so quiet and stoic, smiling so broadly. but just as quickly as the rare expression appeared, it disappeared and she began besieging her half-sister with questions.

“how long have you been back? how did your quest go? what was california like? what was the architecture like?-“ [reader] cut her little sister’s onslaught of questions off with a laugh.

“I thought you may ask about that, so,” [reader] untangled herself from annabeth’s limbs and picked up the polaroids and sketchbook from her bed. “I took these. I also thought you’d appreciate a new sketchbook.” once again [reader] was engulfed in a hug by her younger sister, arms stuck out and still holding the gifts. when annabeth finally let go, she excitedly took the gifts from [reader]’s hands and quickly stored them inside her own cabinet. when she returned to her previous place by [reader]’s side, she continued on with her questions. “are you coming to dinner? did you go sightseeing? I need to know everything!” with a laugh [reader] promised her younger sister to divulge every detail over dinner.

the thought of dinner also brought thoughts of luke castellan to the older athena girl’s mind. not that they were all bad thoughts, but they hadn’t parted on the best of terms after a game of capture the flag held just before [reader]’s departure for her quest. [reader] hoped that they could talk it out after dinner.

luke had an undershirt and a flannel sandwiching his orange camp shirt, but it seemed to do little to defend him against the winds that blew through the dining pavilion of camp half-blood. he was sat with chris and a few other hermes children for dinner, laughing and joking around as they ate, speculating what tomorrow held in store for them. however, the conversation with his peers did little to prevent him from looking around the dining hall every so often. he hadn’t seen annabeth yet, which worried him, and another part of him was on the lookout for [reader]. luke thought himself to be silly in looking for her, only last night had he heard chiron saying that she probably wouldn’t be back for another couple of days, but he still held out hope for her early return.

catching up had held [reader] and annabeth back slightly, causing them to be late to dinner, but in annabeth’s eyes it was worth it to make up for lost time with her sister; hearing about [reader]’s time in california, while she herself caught [reader] up to date on the happenings at camp half-blood. “-and luke’s been pining after you like a lost puppy ever since it took you longer than a week to return.” annabeth told [reader] as they entered the food hall as if it were the most casual piece of information in the world.

[reader] was slightly surprised by annabeth’s omission of luke’s behaviour, but at the same time a smile painted her face as she thought of luke castellan traipsing about camp like a quote-unquote ‘lost puppy’. the two girls had to pass by where luke sat to get to their own table for dinner. he had his head down as he ate when they passed and nimbly [reader] slipped the yellow note from her own hoodie pocket to rest by luke’s plate. she and annabeth were gone before luke even registered what had happened, his eyes flickering around to try and catch a glimpse of who dropped the note beside him, but it was impossible to pick out any one face from the throng of people scattered around the pavilion.

taking a moment to actually read through the note, luke noticed the familiarity of the handwriting and felt a thrill of excitement jolt through him. ‘meet me at the docks after curfew. bring some food. see ya hero.’. luke’s plate was practically empty at this point so he stood up to hand his plate and cutlery in for washing and went off in search of the stroll brothers. he ignored the urge to search through the dining pavilion to try and find [reader], wanting to respect her ask to meet after curfew. as a daughter of athena, he knew she had a plan and reasoning as to her ask.

the strolls were easy enough to find, and after a brief haggle, luke exchanged 10 drachmas and the promise of owing a favour to the brothers for a 4 pack of pain au chocolats. luke stored the food in his bedside cabinet, hiding it behind some of his other belongings so anyone in the hermes cabin that dared to snoop through the counsellor’s cabinet wouldn’t find the sweet treats.

luke had an undershirt and a flannel sandwiching his orange camp shirt, but it seemed to do little to defend him against the winds that blew through the dining pavilion of camp half-blood. he was sat with chris and a few other hermes children for dinner, laughing and joking around as they ate, speculating what tomorrow held in store for them. however, the conversation with his peers did little to prevent him from looking around the dining hall every so often. he hadn’t seen annabeth yet, which worried him, and another part of him was on the lookout for [reader]. luke thought himself to be silly in looking for her, only last night had he heard chiron saying that she probably wouldn’t be back for another couple of days, but he still held out hope for her early return.

catching up had held [reader] and annabeth back slightly, causing them to be late to dinner, but in annabeth’s eyes it was worth it to make up for lost time with her sister; hearing about [reader]’s time in california, while she herself caught [reader] up to date on the happenings at camp half-blood. “-and luke’s been pining after you like a lost puppy ever since it took you longer than a week to return.” annabeth told [reader] as they entered the food hall as if it were the most casual piece of information in the world.

[reader] was slightly surprised by annabeth’s omission of luke’s behaviour, but at the same time a smile painted her face as she thought of luke castellan traipsing about camp like a quote-unquote ‘lost puppy’. the two girls had to pass by where luke sat to get to their own table for dinner. he had his head down as he ate when they passed and nimbly [reader] slipped the yellow note from her own hoodie pocket to rest by luke’s plate. she and annabeth were gone before luke even registered what had happened, his eyes flickering around to try and catch a glimpse of who dropped the note beside him, but it was impossible to pick out any one face from the throng of people scattered around the pavilion.

taking a moment to actually read through the note, luke noticed the familiarity of the handwriting and felt a thrill of excitement jolt through him. ‘meet me at the docks after curfew. bring some food. see ya hero.’. luke’s plate was practically empty at this point so he stood up to hand his plate and cutlery in for washing and went off in search of the stroll brothers. he ignored the urge to search through the dining pavilion to try and find [reader], wanting to respect her ask to meet after curfew. as a daughter of athena, he knew she had a plan and reasoning as to her ask.

the strolls were easy enough to find, and after a brief haggle, luke exchanged 10 drachmas and the promise of owing a favour to the brothers for a 4 pack of pain au chocolats. luke stored the food in his bedside cabinet, hiding it behind some of his other belongings so anyone in the hermes cabin that dared to snoop through the counsellor’s cabinet wouldn’t find the sweet treats.

for luke, curfew couldn’t come quick enough. he pretended to get ready for bed with the other inhabitants of the hermes cabin, changing into his pyjamas and calling lights out once everyone was settled enough. he waited about an hour after curfew to get out of bed, quietly retrieving the chocolate pastries from his cabinet, slipping on his shoes and sneaking out the door.

the walk to the docks wasn’t far from the hermes cabin but to luke, with all the anticipation that was beginning to build in his stomach, it felt longer. the still night water came into view first, then the wooden docking, and finally the girl he’d missed for so long. [reader], who was also in her pyjamas, sat with her back to luke as he arrived, staring off towards the horizon. as he approached her, he ran a hand through his curls, a nervous habit he’d picked up from her over the years.

luke sat down without a word, placing the pain au chocolats and the yellow sticky note between himself and [reader]. he turned to see what [reader] had been gazing at, noticing how many stars could be seen from where he sat; their differing size and brightness and in his head he tried to join them up. [reader] had pointed out the many constellations that could be seen from camp to him over and over again with mock annoyance, but it was worth it every time, luke thought, to see the way [reader]’s eyes grew wide and sparkled, loving what she was talking about.

after a moment, [reader] broke the soft silence between them with a quiet “hi.”

“hey.” luke returned similarly. “when did you get back?”

“late this afternoon, 4ish I think.”

“it’s good to see you.” luke turned to face [reader] just as she mirrored him.

“you too. I missed you while I was in the hollywood hills. and I was told you missed me as well.” [reader] held luke’s gaze wanting to see if he’d own up to acting how annabeth had described, or whether he’d try and play it cool.

luke had the common sense to look a little guilty at that addition, breaking away from [reader]’s eye contact and down casting his eyes to his lap instead. “you got a new nose ring.” luke muttered.

[reader] gave a short laugh at luke’s change of subject but indulged him. “I did. I wore the clear stud for the quest, but when I saw this I knew I had to get it.”

“it looks good.” luke agreed, noting how it shone in the moonlight. “did you get anything else?”

“eh, a new notebook for me, a sketchbook for annie, and to share…” [reader] turned away from luke for a moment to pull something from her bag. “…a bottle of red!” [reader] presented the bottle of alcohol to luke with a flourish.

luke laughed with excitement as he took to bottle in. “where did you get this?” he took it from [reader] to unscrew open as she told him the story. how, thanks to the fake id the stroll brothers had given her for her 18th birthday, she’d managed to get ahold of two bottles of wine but unfortunately no glasses and, eventually, how she’d had to hand over one of the bottles to mr d upon on her arrival back to camp. “should’ve known better.” [reader] grumbled at the end of her recount.

“oh well,” luke offered the opened bottle to [reader], “you’re back home now.”

“home sweet home.” [reader] agreed sarcastically, toasting her drink up to the sky.

luke smiled at her gesture, gently taking the bottle from her and copying with the same abundance of cynicism before taking a large swig of the bitter drink. the subtlest of crinkles forming between his brows as the tannins hit his taste buds. luke held the drink back out towards [reader] to take, observing how she took smaller, more cautionary sips after recognising luke’s expression of displeasure at the harshness of the wine.

“too strong for you, hero?” [reader] quipped. luke scoffed at the question, taking the bottle back and drinking some more in preference to answering but the nickname ricocheted around his head. ‘hero’. [reader] had come up with it just over a year ago now, it was in reference to how luke was constantly trying to play the saviour in camp activities, predominantly capture the flag. while many of the athena children were book smart, reading classic literature, analysing books and strategising, [reader] had always been people smart, knowing how to manipulate them to agree with her, reading body language and knowing how to get away with almost anything by pulling on the heartstrings of others. it was what made her stand out amongst her peers, it was what luke loved about her.

it seemed like hours that the two had been on the hardwood panels of the docks, drinking and talking about whatever came to their minds; [reader] swatting luke on the shoulder and correcting him whenever he failed to accurately identify a constellation. the wine bottle was nearly empty now and the warmth from the alcohol was evident in both parties’ cheeks. moving to lay down, luke pulled [reader] down with him, cheeks heating up further when she curled up into his side, her head resting against his chest. part of him wished they could stay like this forever, that time would stop and they would forever be encased in this perfect moment. but another wished that [reader]’s head was anywhere but his chest, his heart was beating so fast he was certain that, if she didn’t hear it, she’d notice when it burst straight from his chest.

“you alright up there castellan?” [reader] questioned.

‘fuck!’ luke’s thoughts raced as fast as his heart as he realised she could hear him, and attempted to stammer out a reply. “uh. yeah, yeah. I’m fine. why- um, why do you ask?”

[reader] had a knowing smirk on her face and shook her head slightly but didn’t say anything about it, to which luke was very grateful for. “you know it really is good to see you again, hero. and I am sorry about our last conversation, we both said shit we shouldn’t have, but I shouldn’t have just left like that.”

“it’s okay, I forgive you.” luke promised, swiping his tongue across cracked lips, “it was stupid. besides, I was really more worried about how your quest was taking so long, thought something might’ve happened.” he got quieter towards the end of his sentence, and if you hadn’t been so close, you may have missed the additional whispered “thought I may never have known what happened.”. [reader] could tell the atmosphere had shifted towards solemnity; she understood where luke was coming from, often she held a similar fear when the hermes boy beneath her took longer than anticipated on a quest.

“I worry about you too” she confided in a whisper, sitting up beside the boy to be able to see his face. luke took his time to process this information. his own thoughts were muddled in his head and made it harder for him to focus or form something coherent.

he licked his lips before opening his mouth to speak, only to close it again barely a moment later. he did this once- twice- thrice more before eventually speaking up. “there’s so much I want to say to you right now but I don’t know if I should after drinking. y’know, lowered inhibitions and all.” luke gave a breathy laugh at the end of his speech, half expecting [reader] to join in, instead she just held his gaze; studying him to see if he was speaking honestly.

“I want to hear what you have to say.” she spoke softly. “besides you know what they say, ‘drunk words are sober thoughts’.” the last part was said with a cheeky smile as luke also moved to sit up and face [reader]. 

“alright then,” luke agreed, his curls bouncing ever so slightly as he nodded, “I like you. like, really like you. like, really like like you.” his words grew more confident as he spoke, holding steady eye contact with [reader] the entire time.

as luke confessed his feelings, a smile bloomed across [reader]’s face along with a warmth that she couldn’t distinguish between the alcohol or the rapid thumping of her heart against her ribcage. “I really like like you too.” she told him slowly, revelling in the soft smile that spread across luke’s sun kissed features.

luke leant forwards to pull [reader] closer to him, tugging her to sit between his legs. he caressed [reader]’s face gently to bring her even closer to him than before. there was barely an inch between the pair as their gazes flickered from eyes to lips, up and down, over and over again until finally, luke was leaning in, cupping [reader]’s jaw to meet his lips. the kiss was sweet; it started off slow as the pair found their footing in this new situation, but gradually it grew more passionate and frenzied, hands gripping hips while others got tangled within soft curls.

the pair separated after a few minutes to be able to refill their lungs with oxygen. soft breaths mingled together as they sat facing each other. luke lent backwards a little to provide some space between himself and [reader], allow them to gather their thoughts post-kiss. a small, sly smile spread across [reader]’s face as she moved forwards to push luke back onto his back, before returning to her previous position: curled up into the boy’s side.

luke was compliant to all of [reader]’s actions, muttering out “this is nice.”. all that came from [reader] was a soft hum of agreement and luke could tell that she was beginning to drift off. he certainly was. half a bottle of wine shared secretly in the middle of the night, the adrenaline rush from their kiss, and finally the tranquillity of the slumber that was beginning to cloud his mind. this was perfect. all of this was perfect, the bright moonlight that shone down on the pair, the twinkling stars that hung so perfectly, and the girl that was snugly curled into his side, the natural warmth of her body combined with the flush from the alcohol was helping to fight off the cooling of the night.

there were hardly any clouds in the sky. the stars looking like little flecks of paint against the deep blue of the midnight sky. the moon was like a spotlight that illuminated the pair in this perfect moment. carefully, luke moved [reader] from his side to across his lap instead, adjusting her so that he could sit up and then pick her up; bridal style. luke walked slowly and steadily, carefully calculating each step he took to avoid tripping and possibly startling [reader].

the hermes cabin was always too full, that was basically fact, so luke trudged on to cabin 6. the girl in his arms was still asleep with soft puffs of breath escaping between her lips at regular interludes. using his elbow to jimmy the door handle and then his foot to carefully nudge the door open. luke stepped tentatively over the threshold of the cabin before pushing the door closed behind him. he’d been in [reader]’s cabin before and he knew that he should know where her bed was, but the darkness of the room was not helping his recollection. he was certain it was on the right side of the cabin, and was it one of the beds nearer the back? luke was incredibly grateful for how soundly [reader] was sleeping; he surmised that it was partly due to the alcohol she’d consumed and probably also partly due to the aftermath of adrenaline that had been fuelling her body during her quest.

the longer luke spent just standing there in the darkness of the cabin the better his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. he was now able to see individual beds and the raise in blankets that showed an occupant in the bed. luke took this as his chance to try and find an empty bed. it didn’t take him long. the bed was right next to one that held a young girl, quietly snoring, and her silver bonnet, and a further glance at the bedside cabinet further proved that this was [reader]’s bed. her current reading book, a pot of melatonin gummies and a hairbrush sat carefully arranged on the top, but the centre piece that caught his gaze was a framed photograph from last summer of annabeth and [reader]. it was a candid he had taken and presented to [reader] for her birthday. the fact that it was front and centre set his heart racing with love yet again that night.

luke carefully balanced [reader] against his chest so that he could use a hand to pull back her bed covers before gently laying her down. he expected that to be the end of the night’s adventure, what he didn’t expect was the strong grip on his wrist. turning to look back he saw [reader], eyes blearily squinted open but indignant.

“what?” luke whispered, trying his hardest not to wake any of the surrounding campers.

“where are you going?” [reader] shot back, not loosening the hold she had around his arm.

“back to my cabin to go to sleep.” luke answered matter-of-factly. 

“no. stay.” luke could’ve laughed at the pout adorning [reader]’s lips. instead he pressed a feather light kiss to them before shaking his head with a sigh.

“the things I do for you.” he muttered sarcastically. [reader] smiled at his words, knowing he would rather walk to the ends of the earth before actively protesting against her.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2024

[thornnii]

⎯ ☆ totally baller

genre: fluff wordcount: 3k pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader tags: you/yours pronouns (2nd person pov), high school!au, basketball player luke, fem!reader, sunshine!reader, established relationship, luke is maths/science smart & reader is english & humanities smart, possibly ooc luke, swearing, talk of food/being hungry, kisses summary: what was supposed to be a study date after luke's basketball practice somehow turned into a 2am convenience store run notes: special mention to @kiyasoup asked to be tagged

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you sat on the bleachers in the gymnasium, headphones covering your ears as you attempted to focus on catching up on your homework, but somehow the squeak of trainers on the laminated flooring and the thump of rubber basketballs still managed to penetrate through the music that flooded into your ears. a quick glance at your watch told you that the coach would be calling time soon, so you began to pack up your school supplies so that you could leave the gym as quickly as possible. it wasn’t that you minded hanging out in the gym after school on tuesdays to watch your boyfriend’s basketball practice, but when all you could smell was sweat, you were ready to leave.

the team had filed out into the changing rooms so you headed outside to wait for luke, taking the chance to fill your lungs with a deep breath of fresh air. it didn’t take him long to join you, five minutes maximum. he came up from behind and wrapped an arm around your shoulders to pull you into him, only for you to push him away again. “you stink, luke!” you complained. his only response was to pull you to him once again and press a kiss to your temple. you grumbled but allowed it.

“you still coming over?” you asked.

“of course.” it had become tradition when you’d started dating that luke would come over to your house after his tuesday practice.

“and staying for dinner?” you pressed a kiss to the hand that was draped around your shoulder.

“of course.” he reiterated with another kiss to your temple.

it was a maximum of a 15 minute walk back to your house and you and luke shared playful banter the entire way there. that was something you loved about your relationship with him, even with the banter luke was always a true gentleman towards you; always making sure to follow ‘the sidewalk rule’, presenting you with little handmade gifts and small bouquets of flowers at each date. such gifts either being placed around your room or into your memory box, which was full of things given to you by luke during your relationship.

every time that luke entered your room, he would always look around at all the gifts you had arranged around your room. eventually you pushed him away from his gawking and towards your bathroom, telling him to take a shower to wash away the scent of sweat that stained his uniform.

whilst he freshened up, you got out your notebook and maths textbook from your bag. 5 sets of questions, each with multiple parts for all of them. you sighed as you looked at all the work you had to do. for some reason luke never had any issues when it came to mathematics, able to breeze through it, but you hated the class passionately, often cribbing off his notes for homework. this time however you were vehement in trying to do it yourself.

you changed in preference for doing your homework in your pyjamas instead. getting into a comfortable position on the bed you looked over the workload with slight disdain, but with a sigh you began. it took about 10 more minutes until luke reappeared. you were feeling confident with your work, had gotten through the first set of questions and a good chunk of the second as well.

feeling luke’s presence you looked away from the books, meeting the soft gaze of his warm brown eyes. “you started without me.” he pouted. luke had changed into some of the clothes that you kept at your house for him; a loose t-shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms.

“it’s homework.” you raised an eyebrow at him, judging how he was pouting for not being able to start maths homework with you.

luke climbed onto the bed, sliding behind you and slipping his arms around your waist, while his chin rested upon your shoulder. he was observing the work that you’d already done, and you continued to let him do so silently. it was like a method of proof-reading that the two of you had developed, you let him scan for any errors so that you’d have the highest score you could when you were finished.

“yeah. but it’s a study date.” he emphasised “we’re supposed to do things together on a date.” even if you couldn’t see it, you could feel the pout that adorned his face.

“fine then. help me with my work.” you leant back into his embrace.

he gave a sigh, wrapping his arms tighter around you as you moved your notebook towards him. “gods, you are so fucking lucky I love you. you know that right?” punctuating his words with kisses to your temple.

“mhmm. work.” you prompted him to take the book once more.

dinner was just something simple. a handful of chicken nuggets each and some chunky chips. took no longer than 30 minutes to be cooked in the oven and evenly plated between the two of you. you and luke spent the meal talking about your respective days, talking about the classes that you didn’t share, listening to luke talk about the gossip amongst the basketball team.

it didn’t take more than an hour for you and luke to journey back upstairs to continue with the work you’d each been given. after finishing your maths, you had history homework where you had to write an essay about ancient greece. it was a subject that you had affluent knowledge of, and you knew that the essay wouldn’t take you long. after dinner you’d moved to work at your desk in preference of having a solid surface to write on, but luke remainded on your bed. glancing over at him, you noticed the narrowing of his eyes, the scrunch of his brows, how he was tapping his pen against his own notebook as he stared at the page in deep thought. moving slightly to see what it was he was working on, you saw his page titled: “gendered language studies”. so, he was working on english theory. luke was always more comfortable when it came to maths, while you always preferred english or the humanities, like history and geography.

“luke, what’s wrong, baby?” you asked softly.

“it’s this fucking homework. I dunno what I’m supposed to be doing.” he leaned back sighing.

“well, what is it that you’re meant to do? maybe I can help?”

“uh, well. I’m supposed to be making notes from this gendered language article.” he gestured to the work in front of him.

“can you just make bullet points? when’s it due?” you asked, nodding your head at the article sheet.

“it’s not due for a week or so. I guess bullet points would work for now.” he looked back down at his work.

“yeah, and then you can flesh it out at a later date.” you had stood up, now pressing a soft kiss to the top of Luke’s head. just as you went to go back to your desk, luke grabbed your wrist, pulling you back to him suddenly.

“luke, you dick!” you exclaimed, caught off guard by his actions, “I’ve got my own work to do.” you gestured vaguely behind you at your desk where your own work lay.

“no! stay!” you could hear the infamous pout once more.

“at the very least let me finish my sentence.” you offered a compromise.

“fine.” you shuffled back over to your desk to finish your sentence and pack away your school supplies. you could hear movement back on the bed and could only assume that luke was also packing up his belongings that were strewn across your bed. your assumption was proven to be true when you turned to face him and your bed was clear, apart from luke himself, who remained laid out on the bed, arms out in the air as he waited for you to enter his embrace.

you happily slid between his arms, falling onto the bed next to him with a bounce of the mattress. instantly luke was holding onto you like a vice, as if the moment he loosened his grip on you, you’d be taken away from him, never to return. not that you minded. when you and luke were curled up like this, limbs tangled together, you’d rest your head upon his chest and just listen to the soothing beat of his heart. that, his murmuring of sweet nothings, and the warm he seemed to naturally exude, quickly lulled you to sleep.

you awoke groggily. looking around your room, you weren’t sure what had woken you up. the room was dark now, but your eyes were hastily adjusting, making out the silhouettes of your desk, your bookcase, and your boyfriend, who still held onto you securely. reaching a hand out towards the nightstand where your phone was charging, you patted around the surface until you found it, raising the device in front of your face. the numbers ‘2:15am’ shone back at you.

the sudden light had blinded you slightly, causing you to blink and squint at your phone before being able to fully register what was being displayed. when you did take it in, you let out a disgruntled groan. something had woken you up, in the ridiculously early hours of the morning, for no apparent reason. you wanted to let out a scream, but at the same time you didn’t want to wake Luke who was still fast asleep. actually, the more you looked at his face, the more you did want him to wake up. it was unfair, why should he get to have uninterrupted sleep when you didn’t?

trying to settle down again, you closed your eyes and tried to get into the state of ambiance that had taken you to dreamland previously. alas, sleep failed you. and with the amount of tossing and turning you’d been doing you were surprised that luke hadn’t stirred.

it had been half an hour since you’d first woken up, and you’d figured out why you had woken up. it seemed like every other minute your stomach was grumbling. in the end you gave in to your digestive system and tried getting out of the bed to scout the kitchen for any suitable snacks, but the second that you tried to rise up, the arms that rested around your waist tightened once more, making it impossible to move.

‘so now he chooses to not let me move. thanks dickhead.’ your thoughts were beginning to be influenced by your hangry condition. you began poking at his shoulder. “luke. luke. luke. luke. luke.” each poke was adorned with a whisper of his name, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house.

“luke. luke. luke. luke. luke. luke. luke. luke. luke. luke. luke. luke.” you were adamant in continuing until he woke up. that or your finger went dead from poking him for so long. either seemed possible.

feeling a shift, you continued poking him but rather than antagonising his shoulder any more, you moved to his cheek instead. squishing the smooth skin repeatedly as his slightly chapped lips let a groan tumble out. the arm that had been on top of your waist was raised to try and shield his face from the attacks.

“what do you want?” came muffled from under his bicep.

“want food.” you poked him once more.

“go and get some then.” he still refused to move his arm.

“don’t wanna go by myself.” luke finally moved his arm to look at you.

“seriously?” “yes.” “fuck, fine.” the arm that previously draped over his face was now used to prop himself up.

the journey to the kitchen didn’t take long but luke insisted on keeping his arms around you the entire time. you looked through the fridge and the cupboards but saw nothing that piqued your fancy.

“there’s nothing here.” you complained.

“there’s tons here.” luke raised an eyebrow.

“there is nothing that I currently want, right here, right now.” you clarified.

“then what do you want?” he held his hands out.

“I dunno, like, ice cream or chocolate cake, or chocolate ice cream cake.” you rattled off on your fingers, eyes widening in jubilance at the last option that came to you.

“so we’re gonna have to go to the corner store to get you food?”

“please?” you put on your best puppy dog eyes. you knew luke would never say no to you, but the pleading was just something to encourage that fact, stroke his ego a little.

“fine. have I told you how fucking lucky you are that I love you?” he stood in front of you now, arms never leaving their position.

“just a couple of times today. not enough.” you smiled cheekily.

“gods, I love you.” he alternated each word for a kiss to your forehead.

“I love you too.” you pulled his jaw back down to hold him in place for a kiss. “now,��� you pulled away. “ice cream cake!” you turned and headed for the door, pulling Luke along behind you.

you couldn’t be bothered to change from your pyjamas, and it seemed as if luke felt the same, throwing on a hoodie before tossing another one in your direction. tugging a pair of shoes on, you grabbed your keys from their place by the front door before slipping quietly out with luke in tow.

the store was between a 15 to 20 minute walk from your house, but since it was the middle of the night there would be little holdup. it didn’t take long for the bright, neon lights to shine out a stark contrast against the dark midnight sky. in terms of corner stores, this one was pretty big; there were 4 aisles, a freezer section at the back, a self checkout and an assisted checkout behind which the 18+ items were stored.

as soon as you crossed the threshold of the store you were making your way to the freezers, scanning the shelves for what you desired. luke trudged in behind you, his arms once again finding their hold upon you. you two were the only customers in the store, the only other person a tired looking young adult behind the checkout till. scanning the frosty shelves behind the icy door, luke could see where you’d swiped away the condensation to get a clearer view at the contents of the freezer you stood in front of. having been to this store plenty of time before you’d known which freezer door to go to immediately for any frozen desserts.

luke was momentarily caught off guard when you stepped back to open the tall door before you, the small cardboard box that held the object of your desire finally having been sought out. you presented it gleefully to the sleep ridden form of your boyfriend who gave you a weary smile in return for your ecstatic beam. “ice cream cake!” you declared to him.

“ice cream cake.” luke agreed with a calm nod.

grabbing his hand, you dragged the boy to the front of the store with you, passing the cake box over to the bored store employee and fishing your card out the back of your phone case to pay. the cashier rattled off all the typical script that all retail employees were forced to memorise when they took the job. you ended up deciding against a bag since it was only the one item and it was fairly light. all in all you spent no longer than 10 minutes in the store, 5 at a minimum.

you and luke quietly slid back into your house and grabbed a couple of bowls, a knife to cut the cake with and a pair of spoons. treading carefully upstairs back to your room, luke turned on the fairy lights hung around the corners of your room, providing a soft and warm light to illuminate the sweet treat on your bed. you’d opened up the cardboard box to reveal the gooey chocolate cake before you. the two plates that luke had brought up for you from the kitchen sat next to you on the bed. after turning on the fairy lights by your bed, luke crouched down on the floor, watching as you carefully cut the cake, first in half, and then quarters, and finally into eighths. you carefully slid two slices into respective bowls for you and luke.

even if luke had never asked for a slice you knew it would be unjust to have made him walk all the way to the store with you and get this cake, just for him not to have any. luke gratefully accepted the bowl you gave to him, though he emitted a small shiver when his hands came in contact with the chilled bowl. you stifled a giggle at his actions, a spoonful of cake halfway to your lips as your other hand came up to suppress the laughter that threatened to burst forth. the two slices of cake were quickly devoured between the two of you.

it was now the latter half of 3am and now that your stomach was satiated, you began to feel your eyes droop once more. luke noticed immediately and gave a soft, contented sigh. he’d been ready to go back to sleep as soon as you’d pulled him from the cushioned warmth of your bed and off into the night.

as you eased into your slumbering, luke stacked up the bowls and cutlery, re-packaged the cake and placed them out of the way on your desk. picking you up carefully, bridal style, luke rested your head against his shoulder as he attempted to pull back the covers while still holding you against him.

“if you fucking drop me…” you let the empty threat hang groggily.

“I know, I know.” he promised with a gentle kiss to your hair.

eventually you lay, limbs tangled together once more, and let the drowsiness overcome you. luke seemed to fall asleep as soon as his head grazed the pillow, while you let the warmth of the sheets and the warmth of your boyfriend’s hoodie lull you off to dreamland.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2024

[luvrgrl07]

Had immediate flashbacks to sixth grade with “it’s Tuesday, init?” 😭

⎯ ☆ culture shocks

genre: platonic, fluff wordcount: 2.6k pairing: platonic!pogues x gn!reader tags: british!reader, exchange student!reader, reader is staying with the heywards, you/yours pronouns / 2nd person pov, underage drinking & smoking, swearing, does not stick to canon/pre-canon summary: a collection of moments where reader experiences some sort of culture shock while in america notes: it was weirdly harder than I expected it to be to come up with ideas. may end up doing a part two at some point

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being a part of an extra-curricular exchange student program wasn’t something you’d always planned on doing, but with your english language a-level it was too good an opportunity to pass up. the only thing that put a damper on your excitement was the fact that you’d be going alone. it’s not that no one else in your class was taking part in the exchange student program, it was just unfortunate that you were the only one being sent to a small island called kildare on the east coast of the usa; it was quote-unquote “paradise on earth”. you were going to be staying with the heyward family. from what you were able to gather from the internet the outer banks was a string of barrier islands off the coast of north carolina and south-eastern virginia, a popular tourist destination, and seeing the differences in how the locals interacted with each other, along with how they interacted with tourists would be interesting and beneficial to your studies.

you finished packing up your suitcases, sitting on them as you zipped them up to try and squeeze in as much of your belongings as possible for this trip. the school only permitted two large suitcases and a carry-on bag for the trip, so it was vital to you that you packed everything you deemed essential for this trip to america; a brimming pencil case, at least two notebooks, your laptop, tablet, headphones, two different books, your journal, and anything else you could think of to keep you entertained during the 11+ hour fight. everything else that you wanted to take with you, such as half your wardrobe, your skincare and makeup supplies, and a plentiful supply of snacks, was distributed between your two suitcases.

at 8am the next morning, all students from your year were stood out at the front of school, waiting for the coach that would come and take you to the airport for your 10am flight. you hoped that there would be no delays. the coach ride was long and bumpy but being with your friends and classmates made it more bearable. you all went your separate ways at the airport, saying goodbye to each other and your teachers that had chaperoned the ride for the next few months.

your flight landed at 9:27pm at norfolk international airport and you were greeted outside the terminal by pope, who you’d started a penpal correspondship with as a part of the exchange student program, and an older man who you assumed to be his father. pope held up a large cardboard sign with your name painted, somewhat neatly, in bright colours. despite the slight feeling of embarrassment that swept through you, you couldn’t help the smile that appeared on your face. you walked over and greeted the pair, mr heyward offering to help you pick up your suitcases and load them into his truck.

the ferry ride from the mainland to the island didn’t take that long in comparison to your flight, but the jet lag seemed to make time feel as if it were crawling by instead. when you reached the heyward’s house, pope helped you to carry your luggage to the guest room that had been tidied up for your stay. unpacking took the better part of an hour with the occasional need for some rearranging, but finally all your belongings were safely stored.

pope introduced you to his group of friends the next day. there was jj maybank; a loud and boisterous blond, john b routledge; an easygoing brunette, and finally kiara carrera; a strong-minded beach lover even if she was technically from the rich side of the island, ‘figure eight’.

almost as soon as you’d opened your mouth to greet them, they’d begun asking about your accent. you explained about where you were from and therefore your accent which was followed by the dreaded “is that near london?” question, which you answered reluctantly. then jj was asking you about pronunciation, or rather he was asking you to say the ’stereotypically british’ phrases that floated around on the internet, such as ‘it’s tuesday, innit?’ and ‘a bottle of water.’. you had no idea if how you’d answered had been what he’d expected, but he seemed happy enough with your response.

something that seemed to surprise the pogues was the language that you used. obviously, the pogues were no strangers to swearing in conversation, but sometimes they seemed caught off guard by just how much you swore and the explicit words you used. more than once you’d have to explain to them how a lot of british language was based upon sarcasm and insults, even if they were meant in an affectionate or playful way.

such a moment was illustrated when you were on a call with one of your friends from england. it was noon back home so early in the morning in the obx; thankfully it was the weekend so you didn’t have to worry about any school related obligations. your friend was catching you up on events that had transpired since your departure, mainly gossip, and the pogues were curiously watching how you reacted to the news you were receiving. after one bit of slightly incredulous news you couldn’t help the retort of “that fat cunt!” slipping out. they all looked over at you shocked, but you hadn’t even noticed the looks your language had caused.

your call was over shortly after that, both you and your friend having other things that needed your attention. as you hung up the call, you finally noticed the expressions of your state-side friends. 

“what?” you breathed out in a sort of nervous-confusion.

“you just called someone a ‘fat cunt’.” Kiara said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“ah, right. okay.” you realised what she meant. “I didn’t mean that in the way you think. like she is a cunt but she’s not fat. I meant ‘fat’ as in how much of a cunt she is, is fat.” you explained. you had no idea if they understood your explanation but you hoped they did, otherwise you were going to seem like a massive cow.

“gonna be honest, I always thought that calling someone a ‘cunt’ was more of an australian thing.” jj interrupted your thoughts. his words made you shrug, “the british too, i guess. especially if you live up north.”

a week passed. you were beginning to feel settled in at the local high school you went to with Pope, who had introduced you to the rest of his friends. pope had talked about some sort of bonfire party that would be held on the beach. it was gathering that all on the island were welcome to, ‘kooks’, ‘pogues’ and ‘tourons’ alike. picking up the colloquial language and customs were easy with how much the division of the upper and lower class penetrated the island, you already had nearly half a notebook full of annotations about the different language use. this congregation of everyone on the island was an academic opportunity too good to give up. though you’d probably just have to try and recall things from memory, taking a notebook wouldn’t really be fit for a party.

the bonfire was in full swing when you and the others pulled up to the beach in john b’s old vw camper van, lovingly referred to as the ‘twinkie’. there were a few kegs of beer strewn around the beach and a few dozen cigarettes were lighting up the still dark of the night sky like fireflies. music was playing from a pair of large bluetooth speakers, some random, probably pre-made, spotify playlist so loud that the bass pushed the thoughts out of your head. a group of people had created a dance area by the speakers, so close that it was almost impossible to hear the person next to you over the throbbing of the music. many were singing along to the music as they danced.

the dancing didn’t interest you to begin with, opting instead to grab one of the infamous plastic red cups, so often seen in movies, filled with a cheap beer. as you took a sip you felt an arm wrapped around your shoulders. in your peripheral you saw the blond mop of hair that belonged jj, the arm around you holding a burning joint whilst the other held a beer of his own. he noticed the scrunch of your nose as you sipped you drink, pulling the red cup away from your lips as though it had offended you, and laughed at the expression.

“what’s the matter? beer too cheap for you?” he asked.

“nah, it’s not that. beer’s weak is all.” you replied.

“weak?” he pulled back slightly as he asked, looking at you directly.

“yeah. what percentage is it? like a 2%?”

“dunno. probably something like that.”

“drunk stronger.” you shrugged and took another sip.

jj just watched with an impressed smirk. the two of you remained in a comfortable silence for a few minutes longer, sipping your respective beers and sharing the burning weed. you’d seen kie drag pope and john b to the dance area a few songs ago, but were now unable to identify them amongst the ever growing mass of dancers that had concentrated over by the speakers. just then you heard an all too familiar song intro. it had you straightening up, blocking out whatever jj was saying to focus on the song. you were half certain you had misheard, but no, without a doubt, ‘mr brightside’ by the killers was playing.

“holy shit, it’s mr brightside!” you all but squealed.

“mr what? what- where are you going?” jj yelled as you took off across the beach towards the music.

it had caught you completely off guard that mr brightside had started playing, despite the fact that you knew the killers were from la, mr brightside was such a classic british song, you’d hear at the pub, every school disco, year 11 prom, sixth form prom and any other opportunity where music could be played. you were yelling the lyrics from the top of your lungs by the time you’d reached the crowd. since the song wasn’t as popular in america as it was in england part of the crowd had dispersed and it was thanks to this that you were able to locate kiara, pope and john b so quickly. kie began singing and swaying with you to the music, behind her jj was running up and weaving through the remaining throng of people. the pogues smiled at your display of excitement, it showed how comfortable you’d become in the short time you’d been in the states.

you and the rest of the pogues were having dinner over at john b’s house, ‘the chateau’. everyone had agreed to chip in to help in one way or another; pope was providing the food in the first place from his dad’s store, kie was going to bring over her family’s slow cooker for the vegetables, jj was going to barbecue roast the lamb chops, and you were going to cook the potatoes. since it was a sunday and the rest of the ingredients were there, apart from gravy but you refused to go near american gravy, you decided to do roast potatoes. a make-shift sunday roast if you will. kiara didn’t take long with the veg, just under 20 minutes and you were only 5 minutes behind her with the potatoes. you and kie dished up the food you two had respectively prepared just as jj called through that the lamb was done. you and the others took your plates out to him to get dished up, kie taking her own plate as well as jj's.

you’d all decided to eat outside, and all though the others were used to the coastal humidity it still got to you during the evening where there was nothing to do, nothing to keep your mind off the blazing heat. basic conversation was flowing through the group as you ate your food until jj called out to you glanced in jj's direction and saw him practically inhaling his meal.

“christ jj, you don’t need to scoff your food that fast. it ain’t going anywhere.” you commented with a raised brow.

“I’m whatting my food?” jj asked, mouth full.

“first of all, swallow.” you waited until he complied before continuing, “second of all, I said that you were scoffing your food. when someone is trying to inhale their food, like eating without chewing.” you explained before your attention was taken away by something else you hated about the island’s warm climate; the inescapable onslaught of mosquitos.

“fucking midges.” you muttered, squashing the one approaching your food between your hands.

“what’s that?” kiara asked.

“hmm, oh it’s nothing, just complaining to myself about the midges, the mosquitos.” you clarified.

the conversation petered off into small nothings again until everyone was finished. you and pope were taking the plates inside as kiara cleaned up the slow cooker as best she could before having to return home with it. john b and jj followed the three of you in, john b saying to the room at large: “you three did a great job with the food.” jj clapped him on the back while you and kie gave your thanks over your shoulders.

“yeah, although I thought you were gonna do boiled potatoes?” pope asked you.

“was going to, but since it’s a sunday and the rest of the food is pretty much the same, thought I’d do roasties, felt like a taste of home having a sunday roast.” pope nodded, understanding that it was probably a comfort to your homesickness.

something that had caught you off guard the minute you’d arrived in america was the truth of how in movies or tv shows most people left their shoes on inside the house. it was more than likely that if you were to try that at home you’d get skinned alive by your parents.

the first time you’d stumbled upon this fact was when you arrived at the heyward's house on your very first night in outer banks. as soon as you stepped into the house in front of pope, who was helping you to carry in your belongings, you began to take off your shoes. pope noticed what you were doing and laughed under his breath at your actions, “you don’t need to take your shoes off, y’know.” you glanced at him and then down at your shoes, “it's a habit, I guess.” you shrugged.

another time that you were reminded of this difference was when you visited john b’s house for the first time. the floors at the chateau were rough and wooden, meaning that bare feet would be at constant threat of splinters if one was to take their shoes off. you’d gotten used to wearing slippers or just socks around the heyward house since their floors were laminated, but around the chateau it was safest to keep shoes on, no matter how innately wrong it felt.

in a way, not taking shoes off was beginning to grow on you, even if you would rather take that to the grave than admit it out loud. it saved time since the pogues were almost always on the move and staying outside more often than they were indoors. a downside was that it did make your feet feel kinda gross staying in shoes all day without a proper chance at breathing. another con was the production of blisters that appeared on your ankles from the constant wear.

it also meant that you were going through socks like wildfire. at least one pair a day, sometimes more if you went to the beach where clothing easily got soaked. you missed the laminated and carpeted floors of home where socks were only soaked from a downpour of rain.

© thornnii.tumblr.com 2023

[thornnii]

ps. I’m really sorry for the spontaneous hiatus, exams were trying to kill me and I’m still mentally recovering from the burnout pressure of them but I promise I will try and get into a habit of writing again.

lots of love, thorn x

⎯ ☆ calico critters

genre: fluff wordcount: 1.4k pairing: percy jackson x fem!reader tags: daughter of hypnos!reader (she/her), same au as ‘my girlfriend’, established relationship, technology doesn’t attract monsters, tw for talk of food & eating summary: percy knew she didn't really like the cold but he was hoping that a little gift would help bring a smile to her face. notes: I'm english so it felt weird to write calico critters, but it just felt more appropriate for the story for some reason ?

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a chill wind permeated throughout camp as the various demigods that braved the outdoors found ways to keep themselves warm and moving. however most, those [reader] deemed sensible or sane - as sane as anyone at this camp could be, were tucked away inside. [reader] herself was in her cabin watching different video essays from youtube that piqued her interest. it was growing close to the end of lunch time and clovis was still gone, [reader] however had expressed that she wasn’t hungry and although clovis had attempted to convince her to join him, he knew it would be a waste of time trying to convince his stubborn sister.

[reader] had barely noticed the passing of time, her noise-cancelling headphones allowing her to block out everything around her and immerse herself in the video she was watching. that was why she never noticed the knocking that came from the door of cabin 15. it may have only just begun or it may have been going on for a minute.

percy felt like cursing his innate need to be polite for his girlfriend. it was cold and windy, and he’d forgotten a jacket when he left his own cabin earlier. after a minute or so of intermittently knocking on the door, percy decided he was going to have just open the door himself. he opened the door slowly, calling out [reader]’s name as he entered. it didn’t take him long to see why his knocks had gone unanswered from the headphones, to [reader]’s hunched posture over her laptop.

cautiously, percy stepped round to be in front of [reader], not wanting to startle her from behind. the movement in her peripherals caused [reader] to look away from her laptop, the sudden, to her, presence of her boyfriend causing her to jump slightly, blinking owlishly at something that wasn’t a pixelated screen after hours of being on youtube. “w-what are you doing here?” her voice was hoarse after not really speaking since she’d woken up, stumbling as she threaded the words together.

“you missed lunch,” percy said matter-of-factly. “so I brought you something.” percy pulled out a small tupperware container containing a sandwich and a bunch of grapes. upon seeing the food, [reader] began to feel hunger grabbing at her. she took the container from percy with a quiet mutter of thanks, taking small bites of the sandwich.

“how are you doing?” percy asked, only receiving shrugged shoulders as a response.

“I dunno, alright I guess. been watching video essays.” [reader] gestured to laptop screen which showed a youtube playlist of video essays on a multitude of different topics; the video that had been paused upon percy’s surprise appearance was titled ‘The Internet is Turning its Back on True Crime’ by Shanspeare.

“true crime?” percy raised an eyebrow.

“it’s interesting.” [reader] countered.

percy just shook his head with a sigh. he’d experienced [reader]’s stubbornness the hard way before and knew how fruitless it was to try and further the dispute. instead he reached into the big front pocket of his slightly baggy hoodie. “got something else for you too.” he eased a hand through his curls.

that caught [reader]’s interest. ‘what else could percy have?’

slowly he pulled out a little plastic bag, the ‘Calico Critters’ logo printed at the top and a group of the baby characters gathered at the bottom. the top was already slightly ripped open, and [reader] eyed it suspiciously. percy noticed the look and explained: “yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to get you a specific one so I had to check what was in there. took a couple of tries to get the right one.” (actually percy bought roughly $30 worth of the blind bags and definitely got some looks from the cashier and his mom, but if it ended up making [reader] happy percy was willing to spend his entire allowance.)

[reader] took the bag from percy’s hands, opening the gap at the top slightly wider and tipping the critter out into her awaiting palm. from the bag, a small black cat baby slid out. it fell face first into [reader]’s hand and she was quick to toss the now empty bag onto the bed beside her before gently picking up the tiny baby figure. soft black fur was wrapped up in a pastel yellow smock, the inside of its ears were pink under the black fuzz. at this point [reader] couldn’t hide her smile as she carefully stroked the baby's cheek with the back of her finger.

all percy could do was look on admiringly; at how [reader]’s eyes shone as she inspected the tiny animal, at how sweet her rare smile was, at how she cradled the baby in her hands. percy was getting lost in thoughts as he sat on the floor, lovingly gazing up at his girlfriend. it was [reader] that abruptly broke the silence.

“this means we’re parents now.”

now it was percy’s turn to look confused, until [reader] continued; “this is our baby.” she held the little black cat out to him, and now understanding her words, percy smiled along with his girlfriend.

“yeah. but if this is our baby that means we need to name it, any ideas?” [reader] took a moment to think before announcing decidedly: “star.”

“star?” percy parroted back, testing out the name.

“yeah, she’s got black fur like the void of space, and yellow is associated with the colour of stars.” [reader] explained.

“star it is then.” percy agreed.

standing up, percy stretched his limbs, sighing in satisfaction when he heard several cracks of his joints. choosing to ignore the muttered ‘ew’ that came from his girlfriend at the noises, he planted a quick kiss to her head and moved over to the cabin window just after the end of her bed. pulling back the thin cream curtains, percy craned his neck to look up at the sky above the camp. the dark skies from earlier in the day seemed to have mostly cleared and the winds had slowed down. “do you want to go outside for a walk?” percy asked, turning back to face [reader], stifling a snort of laughter at her disapproving expression. “c’mon.” percy came back over to her, taking the hand that didn’t hold star in his own, pulling her off the bed and leading her to the window. “the weather has cleared a bit and we could use it as an opportunity to show star around camp.”

“okay.” [reader] agreed, still not totally sold on the idea but enjoying the thought of spending more time with percy and their new child. [reader] was still in her pyjama trousers and camp top, so she handed star over to percy and went on the hunt for a jacket. she found an oversized jumper in the pile of clothes at the end of her bed and slung it on. percy held an arm out for [reader] and with a giggle she took hold of his forearm, resting her arm in the crook of his elbow.

stepping out of the cabin into the brisk afternoon air, the pair started off on their slow stroll, pointing out the different landmarks of camp to star as the passed each one. as they continued to walk, the skies continued to clear up, the weather warming up even as the wind continued to nip at their cheeks. the two walked aimlessly around for about an hour before they headed back to cabin 15. percy sat down on the bed first before pulling [reader] to sit with him. [reader] pulled her laptop into her lap like before and disconnected her headphones from it, playing the video so they could finish watching it together. having missed the beginning of the video, percy whispered multiple questions in her ear about what was going on, [reader] whispering answers back as if they were at a cinema and didn’t want to disturb the people around them, even if the only other one with them was star.

in percy’s warm embrace, it didn’t take long until [reader] began to feel tired, slumping in his arms and resting her head on his shoulder. the sight of his girlfriend being able to fall asleep so easily in his embrace made his heart swell and a blush creep onto his cheeks. pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of her head, percy moved carefully to close [reader]’s laptop and move it to the end of the bed, then carefully placing star onto [reader]’s bedside table before shifting to sit more comfortably against the headboard of her bed, making sure that [reader] was still laying comfortably on his chest.