#vi's basket ₍ᐢ..ᐢ₎

[minorlyatfault]

𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐈 𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓, 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄 !

p. jackson x child of demeter!reader

only want to fix it with a kiss on the lips,

but i think i might,

take a bite !

𝓦arnings: grammatical errors. ooc(?). my attempt in being poetic. talks ab leaving camp.

𝓝otes:

001. to that one random girl who let me borrow her dictionary earlier at the café while i was writing this, thank you😭😭 (i forgot to ask for her name or ANYTHING)

002. cherry cherry cherry cherry

003. def a guardian angel

sunlight passed through the leaves to cast dappled patterns across the picnic blanket spread between the roots. the cherry trees danced in the soft summer air, the branches weighted with juicy fruit.

you sat opposite percy, a bowl of newly picked cherries between you. he picked one up, rolling it in his fingers, investigating it as if it contained some deep secret.

"you know," he said, looking up at you with that crooked grin, "i think i like it here more than any other place in camp."

you raised an eyebrow. "more than the lake?"

percy paused, then nodded. "yeah. i mean, the lake is fine & all, but this," he waved his hand around at the cherry trees, the small square of green you'd cut out of nothing with your own two hands. "this is more.. okay."

you snorted at his statement.

it was. this wasn't just part of camp half-blood; it was part of you. a part of your soul that had been buried in the roots, in the flowers, in the fruit that grew sweeter each summer. you had sown it yourself, tended to it with the same patient reserve your mother, demeter, had taught you.

& somewhere, somehow along the way, it had grown into yours & percy's.

not formally. not in any manner you could speak. but it was in the way he seemed to always end up here, like a tide drawn in. in the way you reserved the reddest cherries for him, even when you swore you didn't. in the way he looked at you now, like there was nowhere else he'd prefer.(he sometimes jokes about making blue cherries)

you extracted a cherry from the basket, spinning the stem around your fingers. "why is this place so okay?" you asked, your voice teasing.

percy let out a soft snort of laughter. "what, you want me to go all sappy about some trees?"

you grinned. "perhaps."

he tossed his cherry pit into the grass & stretched out on the blanket, hands behind his head. “fine. it’s peaceful. it smells good. &…” he turned his head to look at you, something unreadable visible in his sea-green eyes. “you’re here.”

your breath hitched.

it wasn’t fair, really, the way he did that. said things like that so casually, like he didn’t know what they do to you.

you swallowed, eyes on the cherry in your hand. "do you. . . ever consider leaving?"

percy flinched. "camp?"

you nodded, still looking at the fruit. "yeah. just… escaping. no gods, no monsters. just… us."

the words felt dangerous, even as you said them. he knows you didn't want to leave permanently. he knows you don't want to abandon camp, your cherry trees, the strawberry patch, your half siblings, annabeth, clarisse, will, nico, grover, chiron.

a break? definitely. the half-bloods have experienced war, not once. lost many. you know percy is exhausted. with all the quests, the gods. he led wars. he mourned(you all did). you remembered the first time he came to camp. clueless of the half blood life, the sparks in his eyes, shined. he was like a fire that refuses to go out.

this is the price he's paying for simply existing. said the gods.

percy was silent for a long moment. when he finally spoke, his voice was gentler. softer. "yeah. i think about it all the time."

your heart tightened. "really?"

he looked away from the sky again. "yeah. but i don't think we'd ever really be able to get away from it, you know?"

you knew. gods, you despised that you knew.

demigods weren't cut out for peaceful lives. no matter how much you wanted to hope otherwise.

percy jerked up, grasping another cherry. but he didn't pop it into his mouth; he held it in front of you, an unspoken offering.

you hesitated, then leaned forward, biting into the fruit he held out to you. his fingers touched your lips▰only for an instant, hardly more than a suggestion▰but it made heat unfold in your chest nonetheless. you heart began hitting, punching, slapping your lungs & rib cage. beating so hard that it hurts.

percy grinned. "see? fleeing wouldn't be so terrible."

you swallowed, heart pounding. perhaps it was the angle of the sun on his face, or perhaps the way time seemed to be holding its breath, but something inside you burst. like a cherry when it gets squished.

before you had time to think twice, you leaned in, pressing your lips against his.

percy stopped in mid-motion for half a second. long enough for uncertainty to seep in▰but then his hand wrapped around your cheek, pulling you closer, deeper. the kiss was slow to start, tentative, like the manner in which the waves of the sea crash against the beach. but then he breathed against your lips, tilting his head to one side, & then it wasn't slow anymore.

your fingers went to his shoulders, curling into the collar of his shirt as he drew you onto his lap. the basket of cherries fell over, abandoned, fruit rolling across the blanket. his arms around your waist, holding you tight against him as his mouth worked against yours▰hungered, urgent, like he's been waiting as long as you had. like he's been craving your lips for decades as long as you had craved his'.

the flavor of cherries hung between you, sweet & intoxicating.

percy pulled back just far enough to press his forehead against yours, his breathing unsteady. "we're going to be late for dinner," he whispered, a lazy smile pulling at his mouth.

you laughed, fingers tangling in his dark hair. "perhaps we should simply run away, then."

his hold on your waist tightened ever so slightly. "tempting."

you kissed him again, slow & lingering, as the cherry blossoms above you continued dancing.

perhaps you would take a bite.

© minorlyatfault, 2025.

[minorlyatfault]

𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐈 𝐆𝐎, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐎? 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒, 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄? 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑? t. drake x fem!detective! reader.

𝓢ynposis: having cracked a tough case, you & tim finally have a chance to relax. what began as competition turned into a collaboration between two teenage detectives▰& something more

𝓦arnings: grammatical errors. ooc. tim pulls a ravi singh. tim & reader pulls a percabeth if you squint.(& if you've read the books.)

𝓝otes:

001. first tim drake x reader work YAYAYA

002. tim drake x female!detective!reader is growing on me..

003. mmiiiiiiiggghhhhhhhttttt start writing 4 m. townsend next.

004. can you guys tell that i've been rereading the naturals & agggtm..

005. i can't decide ondea wriryingstyle im gonnakms

006. after two months of being locked up in my drafts, she's free.

the case had taken a long time, the clues lying in disorder & misleading, but you & tim had finally solved it. the city outside your apartment window was silent now, the case closed, leaving you with an odd sense of relief.

you were both spread out on your couch in your apartment. tension had slipped from your shoulders, & being in the same room with him, no longer searching for answers but just laying, was comforting.

"so," tim said, his voice deflating the quiet(but relaxing) tension, "can't believe that one case put us together like this."

you glanced over at him with a smile, resting back on the couch. "yeah, it's hilarious when you think about it. but seriously, i don't know if i would ever want to do this with anyone else."

tim smiled, his normal reserved self relaxing, letting his guard down as he glances at you.

he looked down at the file in his hand, snapping it shut with a sense of finality that was strangely pleasing. "i'll say this, i didn't think you'd be this good at that," he said, grinning but also sincere. "i figured i'd have to drag you out of the case mid-way."

you arched an eyebrow, smiling at him. "you actually thought i'd let you do all the fun by yourself?"

"no way." tim relaxed against the back of the seat, folding his arms across the top of his head, his relaxed attitude radiating ease. "i just didn't expect you to get it so quickly. you had to see your face when you solved the last clue. it was as if you broke a code no one else could crack."

you brushed it off, glancing up at the ceiling, not wanting the compliment to sink too deeply. "what can i say? i'm a professional."

tim laughed, a low, pleased sound. "you are a professional."

you let the compliment go, your heart fluttering slightly. but before you could say anything else, tim sat up, grabbing the file once more. his tone was light, teasing. "nice work, sarge."

you blinked. sarge? you paused for a moment, the cheeky grin on your face morphing into a chuckle. "did you just quote a line from a good girl's guide to murder?"

tim looked at you, a flash of something in his eyes▰guilt? he didn't respond immediately, but the edge of his mouth quivered. "maybe."

"maybe?" you raised an eyebrow, your eyes narrowing in (playfully) suspicious consideration. "that sounded definitely like ravi's line. don't try to fool anyone, tim drake."

he rolled his eyes, though the smile curving at the edges of his lips gave him away. "okay. so you caught me. but i did think the line was funny."

"i find it cute the way you can recall things like that," you teased, your eyes sparkling playfully.

"yeah, well," tim replied, his tone slightly softer, "you did drill it into me for weeks when we had just started dating."

you felt your heart soften at the reminder. there were so many little moments you'd had, talking about YA mystery novels, allusions to books, to cases, to jokes. you & tim had gotten to know each other over time, at first, you two could not stand each other. tim thinking you were interrupting his work, & you thinking he's interrupting your work.

the atmosphere between you two changed then, becoming comfortable & more personal. you'd gotten to know him by this point, & he'd gotten to know you. but between you two still lingered that unmistakable fire▰one that both of you weren't quite willing to put out, at all.

"say, speaking of which," you said, standing up, "how about we go get a bath? we've been working nonstop for days now, & i'm fairly certain i could benefit from the relaxation."

tim went with your look towards the bathroom door. he softened his smile & nodded. "sounds good to me."

the bathroom had the scent of vanilla & cherry, your bath bomb you had slipped into the water releasing a soothing aroma into the air. you slipped into the warm water first, exhaling as the heat started to relax the tightness of your muscles. tim soon followed, slipping into the water next to you. the two of you had been in a relationship for some time now, so the initial awkwardness of bathing together was already forgotten.(compared from the first time you two took a bath together.)

"so," tim spoke after a moment of quiet, his tone low, "are we ever going to discuss the fact that we just cracked another case?"

you opened your eyes, looking over at him with a grin. "another case? tim, we've cracked like five or six in the past month. are you counting?"

he smiled softly, the sound familiar in the air between the two of you. "i guess i lost count."(no, he didn't. he's just giddy that he gets to crack another case with you.) but it feels different now, you know? not just the case, but▰well, everything."

you shifted your gaze to meet his, a gentle, silent comprehension passing between the two of you. "yeah, i know what you mean."

"i've been thinking a lot about how we ended up here," tim went on, speaking softly. "how this▰us▰ended up this way. & i never really thought i would feel. this way about anyone. heck▰if i shoo'd you away that time, i wouldn't be able to experience this. & you have no idea how glad i am that i didn't."

his words sent your heart racing, & you spun around to confront him fully, the space between you heavy now with something beyond the steam of the room.

“well, i'm glad you came to investigate the same case that time," you whispered, hardly above a murmur. "i don't think i'd be able to work cases with anyone else."

tim's eyes softened, his hand against yours in the water, a gentle touch that sent heat through your entire body.

"you know," you said, trying to keep the teasing out of your voice, "i think you owe me a couple of victory kisses for breaking that case."

tim's lips curled upward, a smirk spreading across his face. "victory kisses, huh?"

"yeah, victory kisses," you'd repeated with a smile. "you did say you'll give me some after we solve the case. alive.”

his eyes flashed dark for an instant, his teasing attitude changing into something more somber. "i think i can manage that," he whispered.

& then, suddenly, the second stretched between you two, your eyes locked, the stillness charged with tension, until finally, tim leaned in, his lips touching yours.

it wasn't hurried or rough, only soft▰slow. but when you kissed him a second time, it was deeper. the water that surrounded you was long forgotten, & the world outside your apartment died down. it was only you & him, wrapped up in each other's arms, everything else falling away.

when you broke apart at last, you both were breathing a bit harder, but neither of you broke eye contact. "you're good at this," you whispered.

tim grinned, his hand going to push a strand of hair behind your ear. "glad i'm not rusty."

"not even a little bit," you replied, your smile growing. "& now, i think i might just need another bath to wash off the rest of this case."

tim smiled, but his eyes stayed on you, gentle and happy. "i think that sounds like a good idea. & afterwards, i can help you dry off."

the bath was over, & you both emerged, towels wrapped around your bodies. tim leaned over & started drying your hair first, his fingers gently working through your wet locks.

when he was done, he held the towel out to you, his face warm. "your turn."

you smiled, grabbing the towel & beginning to dry his hair with the towel.

as you were done, he helped with the final part, his hands on your skin as he dried your back, his touch, in contact with your skin a second longer than it needed to.

& at last, the two of you went to the bedroom. the cool sheets were tempting, & you crawled into the blankets together. tim hugged you(so)close, his head on your chest. you stroked his hair, the room quiet except for the sound of your breathing & the distant hum of the city outside.

"good night," you whispered, laying a kiss on the top of his head.

"good night," tim muttered slowly, already going under.

the weight of his body on your chest, his steady breathing filling your ears, sent you tumbling into easy sleep too, the heat of the moment, the closeness, wrapping you both like a mother gently wrapping a christmas present. making sure it's protected & won't shatter what's on the inside.

© minorlyatfault, 2025.