#and thalia and probably jason and piper and leo too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

freddie-77-ao3 · 3 months

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Help me choose a fic to work on:

(summaries below poll)

Gorgeous Girl, Goddess Girl, (Good Isn't All You Have Been)

Silena raises her head high as she dons Clarisse's armor. One way or another, it ends today.

She places the note on Drew's pillow, and then Clarisse's.

She steps in the chariot.

She dies.

~~~

Silena dies. These are her actions leading up to it.

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Everything Is In Past Tense Now (You're All Gone)

("And Silena, she makes chocolates with her dad right before the start of summer, and she'll bring them in and they always taste awful 'cause she never makes them any other time, but everyone eats them, 'cause it's Silena. You'll love 'em though, 'cause Cecil always makes ice cream to go with the chocolate, and Malcolm and Beck'll make some baked goods." Chris sees Drew leave the room, Nyssa wipe away a tear, and Clarisse balling her hands into fists and whispering 'hero, hero, hero, she was a hero,' and he realizes his slip up.

Slip ups at camp fires where people don't quite seem dead. (Denial is much stronger than reality when we want it to be)

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This Ship Can't Sink Until It Sails [Tales From The Argo II]

1-3: Piper & Percy prank Leo. Leo tries to rope in Jason & Frank, who can't prank. Meanwhile, Hazel & Annabeth have plans of their own.

4: Annabeth & Jason bond over Thalia, and telling stories about their time at the camps, and architecture after Kym.

5-6: HOH rescue. 7+Reyna/Nico play truth or dare & monopoly. Percy & Nico have just enough time to take Hazel&Jason out for burgers.

7: Jason & Nico talk more after Eros. Hazel & Piper bond.

8: The seven manage to get sick, and Hazel is introduced to Disney movies.

9/10: Coach Hedge & Percy have a bonding moment, & Percy IM's people at camp.

11-12: Coach Hedge's POV on each of the 7. Reyna&Nico&Hedge in Alberta and why it will NEVER be mentioned.

13: the aftermath of the ending of MOA.

14: The last day, the 7 play uno and write goodbye notes. Leo's funeral.

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The Gods Watch From Their Heavens And Judge Us (But Their Sins Outnumber Ours)

Annabeth and Jason and Luke. Those are all the people that Thalia has cared about in her twelve short years. Jason is dead. Annabeth is screaming. Luke is sobbing.

Thalia has failed them all.

Thalia's reflection on her life as she dies.

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Before And After (Though We Often Wish It Hadn't)

There have been hundreds of events in her life that have a before and after. There was the before she ran away, and the after of Camp Half Blood. There was the before she met will, and the after: when she would do anything to protect him. Clarisse has had hundreds of befores and afters, but nothing quite like this.

She didn’t think that there was an after to watching her siblings get consumed by the earth, screaming, while another watched.

She doesn’t know how to cope with that after: a quieter cabin, unfinished bottles of hair solution, and unmade beds.

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Where Our Lines Blur (Hold My Hand)

Connor Stoll likes Malcolm Pace. Malcolm Pace likes Connor Stoll. Seems simple, right? Even more so when they go out to eat together, alone, once a week? But no, it isn't, and Annabeth is going to lose her damn mind if this keeps up. Travis too.

So they drive the two out of camp until they confess, which leads to a day of disasters and disregarded laws including car theft and shoplifting, not to mention the fact that neither of them know how to drive or are of age for a license.

And then they manage to go on a two person raid of a camp with 40 demigods in it, the two are forced to swear something on the River Styx, and it somehow isn't even the worst part of the day?

Travis and Annabeth aren't impressed.

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Come Down The Floods (And Bathe In The Blood Of Gods)

Connor Stoll's morning starts like this: it's three twenty in the morning, and there is a ghost next to them. Drew is already up. There is a storm giant in battle against the gods, and they are in a war against Kronos. It is five days before the biggest battle of Connor's life, and in forty minutes, they'll be dancing on the table with their friends.

ALT: Connor's perspective of the mission to blow up the Princess Andromeda, the day of Beckendorf's funeral, the three days of the Battle of Manhattan, and the funerals that come afterwards.

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Hateful Heroes (Burdened With Bitterness)

(I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU-)

War. War and Death and Tragedy galore. Clarisse isn't mourning properly. Percy isn't either really, and it's of no surprise. (What teenagers are meant to mourn for the people who make up their entire world?) Clarisse starts a fist fight by the dying embers of Hestia's fire and Silena's shroud- but it won't bring her back. Percy stays awake at night watching blood arise from his skin- no amount of it is going to make up for the lives lost.

And then they break. It's not a surprise, but for Hestia who sits by the hearth as they scream? Her heart breaks.

(THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HAD DIED- DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT? I WISH I HAD!- I WISH YOU HAD TOO! MAYBE SILENA WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!)

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Tell Me I Can Live My Life (Don't Tell Me How To Live It)

The moment that Silena decides to become a spy for Kronos is the day that Drew breaks down in tears over her sexuality.

Drew wants to join the Hunters of Artemis, Aphrodite has a rule against that, and Mitchell tells horror stories about the rule.

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So We Scream At The World (How Dare It Be Bright In Light Of Our Loss)

Will Solace is thirteen years old and ready to die. He's seen other people die, lots of them, and thinks that some of them didn't look like they were in pain, so really, how bad could it be? He's exhausted.

He is thirteen, and in charge of the infirmary. Usually it would be left to older kids, but he is the oldest. He's thirteen, and in charge of his siblings. Of making sure they don't die. He is not a leader, but he has been at camp the longest.

He just wants to sleep and never wake up. His family (because that is what they are, what they have become in this war) doesn't want to let him. (They want him to sleep, but they also want him to wake up.)

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When All Your Fucking Dreams Are Dead

The Olympian dream is dead. Demigods pile up in bodies, and learn to fight monsters before they learn how to do addition- if they ever do learn either of those things, that is. Funny, right? They’re myths, they’re fairytales, it’s not like any parents would ever let their six year old fight monsters and take care of a toddler to survive, no, why the fuck would you think that? Fucking Olympian dream, folks. And hahaha, it’s all too funny, then you get to camp, you have no money, don’t even get your own clothes- no. Far to expensive when there’s two hundred children waiting for some food, and some bedding, and gods if someone else could just get a bed to sleep on, or even a place that wasn’t the floor-

Has anyone considered that might have stopped the fucking war?

Or: time travel escapades lead Luke Castellan to be a little less bitter, and things- things go better- somewhat.

Drew Tanaka, Connor Stoll, and Malcolm Pace travel back in time to just after Luke Castellan returns from his quest– Alone.

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Rewind, Rewind (I Remember That Night)

Characters reading the books fanfiction, will hopefully span from the start of PJO to the end of TOA. Minor character discrepancy.

"There's something worse coming. Isn't there? That's why we're here. Because something worse is going to happen-- again? You're doing this to us again? Three times. Three times we've fought for you-- when is it enough?" The figure still encloaked in shadows bitterly called towards the ceiling.

At once, like the hissing of snakes, like every sound in the world at once, the three fates rasped out, "Do not lecture us, child of the gods, of Athena and Hecate, this is the ONLY thing left..."

The figure did not recoil, and stood firm, "What is it this time? It was Kronos, then Gaea, then the emperors and Python... What's next? Ouranos? Khaos? What can't we recover from?" Behind him, the other campers whispered in shock and horror, but the boy didn't stop glaring at them.

#pjo hoo toa #pjo #pjo series #pjo fandom #fanfiction #pjo fanfiction #heroes of olympus #riordanverse #percy jackson #argo ii

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forevfangirlwrites · 19 days

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play stupid games, win stupid prizes chapter 22 (end)

A few days later finds both of them in the library so Annabeth can grab a book and Percy can watch her grab a book. Though the simple task of grabbing said book is made more complicated by Percy’s hand on her waist, then her back, and then down her arms and basically the boy won’t stop touching her.

Or pulling her in closer.

And she supposes this is what they mean by the honeymoon phase cause she doesn’t find herself getting too annoyed with him for it.

“Percyyy,” she whines, trying to hide her smile.

He doesn’t attempt to hide his. “Yeah?”

Like he gets to play innocent. She doesn’t try too hard to shrug him off as she finally finds the book and grabs it.

“Alright, we can leave now, which is clearly what you’ve wanted to do this entire time.”

“Not true,” he retorts. “I would enjoy pushing you up against—”

He cuts off as a group of people walk by. And if she isn’t mistaken, that blue streak is definitely Thalia’s hair.

Percy glances at her and she’s pretty sure he noticed too.

They peer around the shelves and sure enough Piper, Jason, Leo and Thalia are sitting at a table that is, thankfully, not in plain sight of where the two of them are.

“What the fuck?” Percy whispers as she pulls him back.

“Careful, don’t let them see you,” she whispers back.

“But what are they doing?”

“I need to get closer…but you shouldn’t be seen with me.”

“But I wanna know too,” he whines. She almost gives up her mission just to kiss the pout off his lips.

“I’ll meet you outside,” she tells him. “Even if they do see me, it’s not weird for me to be here.”

It’s clear by his pout that he’s upset that she’s right. But with another look from her, he quietly leaves the shelves while she tries to get closer without them seeing.

She hops over to the next row of shelves that gets her within hearing range of the conversation.

“—evidence to point that they are together,” Piper is saying when she is finally able to listen in.

What?

“So…” Thalia says slowly.

“So,” Piper says with more passion than before. “If I’m right, and I have presented my evidence, then they’re dating and hiding it from us!”

“You make some good points,” Jason says, probably to mostly be in support of his girlfriend.

Annabeth has no idea what Piper’s evidence is, but it’s clear that they are talking about her and Percy. Otherwise, they would have been invited to this group meeting.

“So they might be lying, which is rude, but what do we do?” Thalia asks.

The grin that makes its way on Piper’s face is actually a little scary.

“Well, first we see if I’m right, and that means…” she trails off, but Thalia is finally picking up what she’s trying to put down.

“We fuck with them.”

And that’s all Annabeth really needs to know. So before her luck runs out and she gets caught, she hightails out of the library to find Percy waiting around the corner.

“Well?” It’s clear he’s dying to know what’s going on.

But Annabeth is a bit busy gathering her thoughts, after all it takes two to play…

And she’s not half bad at games.

-.-

The next morning, Piper is at her locker earlier than normal, chatting away about Katie’s secret admirer like it’s a normal day. And like she hadn’t been planning on testing her best friend on a potential relationship just yesterday.

Honestly, Annabeth isn’t even mad, it’s going to be fun and she really shouldn’t be lying to their friends about said relationship anyway.

She’d discussed it with Percy afterwards and their plan culminated into basically messing with them back. And then to come clean because they’re both about ready to be done with the secrets anyway.

But why not have some fun while they can?

Sure enough, a minute later Jason and Percy are walking towards them.

“Piper, you forgot your notebook,” Jason says, clearly using it as an excuse.

KEEP READING ON AO3

#percy and annabeth #percabeth #percabeth fic #percabeth au #psgwsp

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poseidonsdaughterthesiren · 3 months

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The Daughter of Poseidon: Chapter Six

Della has to admit flying on a bronze dragon’s back is a surreal feeling. Up high the air is frigid. But thanks to the heat Festus generates they don’t feel it at all. Talk about seat warmers!

Leo uses reins to steer Festus through the clouds like a reindeer. They zip through the clouds with ease the rest of the world below is nothing but a speck.

“Cool right?” Leo says. A pleased smile coats his features.

“What if we get spotted?” asks Piper.

“The mist,” Jason and Della say at the same time. Jason smiles at her.

“It keeps mortals from seeing magic things,” Della explains, “Only seers will notice anything out of the ordinary.”

Her mind goes back to the memory of Luke. His poor mother–

“Seers?” asks Leo.

“Mortals who can see through the mist,” Jason answers.

Della glances back at him and notices he’s holding a photo of a girl, a girl with dark hair. Is that…Thaila?

Jason glances up at her. He sheepishly puts the photo back in his pocket.

“We’re making good time probably get there by tonight.”

“Get where?” Della asks. “I thought you didn’t have a plan.”

Jason laughs, “We’re going to find the god of the North Wind. And chase some storm spirits.”

⬳

The silence had begun to drive Della insane. Typically, when she and her friends went on quests they couldn’t shut up. Percy, in particular never shut up on their quests.

“So,” Piper says. Oh, thank the gods. “Della earlier you said you’re a cursed child…what exactly does that mean?”

Leo sat up straight at the head of the dragon. “You’re cursed?!?”

Della laughs dryly. “Sometimes I wonder, but being a cursed child means that you’re an offspring of the Big Three.”

“The Big Three?” Piper asks. “Do you mean, like Zeus, Hades, and–”

“Poseidon, yeah. They made a pack to not have kids. It’s a loose promise. Anyways, all three have broken it in recent years. We’re more forbidden than cursed.”

“So, are you, your brother, and Jason the only ones?” asks Leo.

“No there’s Nico Di Angelo a son of Hades, and Thalia Grace…she’s a daughter of Zeus but has taken up with the Hunters of Artemis.”

“So why did make a pact if they break it?” asks Piper.

“We’re considered ‘too powerful’ which is fair Percy can take on a whole army by himself, and I–we don’t fully know what all I can do yet.” Della looks down at her lap.

She’s always felt second best to Percy, especially after he took on the Curse of Achilles. She doesn’t understand all she can do. The only thing she does know is her fate, her usual nightmare. Meeting a similar end to Thesus. Being betrayed and thrown over a cliff–but instead of into the sea, it’s Asphodel. She’d seen it in person back when she was twelve, on her first quest.

Della shivers at the thought of the horrid place.

“Shut up me,” Leo says out of nowhere.

“What?” Piper asks.

“Nothing,” he says, “Long night. I think I’m hallucinating. It’s cool.”

Jason, Piper, and Della all share looks of concern.

“Just joking.” Leo decides to change the subject. “So what’s the plan bro? You said something about catching wind, breaking wind, or something?”

As they fly over New England, Jason lays out the game plan. First, find Boreas and grill him for information–

“His name is Boreas?” Leo has to ask. “What is he the God of Boring?”

Second, Jason continues, they have to find the spirits that attacked them at the Grand Canyon–

“Venti? Do you mean anemoi thuellai?” asks Della.

“Can we just call them storm spirits?” Leo asks, “Venti makes them sound like evil expresso drinks and the other one sounds harder.”

And third, Jason finishes, they had to find out who the storm spirits work for, so they could find Hera and free her.

“So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose?”

“That’s about it. Well…there might be a wolf involved too. I think she’s friendly…so she probably won’t eat us, unless we show her weakness–”

“I’m sorry…a wolf?” asks Della. She turns around and faces him.

Jason explains his dream of Lupa the murder-wolf and a burned-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.

“Uh-huh, but you don’t know where this place is?” asks Leo.

“Nope.”

“Lovely…” says Piper.

“Sounds about right for a forbidden child’s quest.” Della turns back towards the others.

“There are also giants, the prophecy said “The giants’ revenge” Piper reminds them.

“Hold on,” Leo says, “Giants? As in more than one? Why can’t it be one giant who wants revenge?”

“Too easy,” Della mutters.

“I don’t think so,” Piper muses, “I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants.”

“But they haven’t been seen for centuries, but then again neither had Kronos.”

“Great…knowing our luck it will be a whole army,” Leo says. “You learn anything else while doing research for your dad Pipes?”

“Your dad?” Della asks.

“Umm yeah, he’s an actor, Tristan McLean.” Piper mumbles.

“What was he in?” asks Della and Jason.

“I’m surprised Della doesn’t know.”

“Hmmm….oh wait…wait! Yes! He’s the Aphrodite’s cabin top pick this year!”

Piper sighs. “That’s why he’s on the wall in my cabin.”

“Yeah, they pick a new “hottie” every year.”

Piper looks about ready to heave off to the side.

Leo on the other hand cackles. “That’s the only reason you’ve heard of him?”

“I mean I vaguely remember the movie posters. But Percy, Beth, and I don’t go to movies very often.”

“You don’t go to movies?” Leo asks.

“Look I don’t go out very much in the mortal world unless I’m thirdwheeling.”

It was a sad truth, Della didn’t really go out that often. It just wasn’t her style. Of course, she’s been to movies over the past few years but is has always been with Annabeth and Percy. Mostly, because Percy drug her carcass out with them.

“Thirdwheeling?” The others ask.

Della sighs. “Not to change the subject, but I’m gonna….giants, we were discussing the giants.”

“The giants–well there were loads in Greek mythology. But if I’m thinking of the right ones they were bads news.

“Extremely bad news,” Della sighs. “They rose after Krono's first downfall–eons ago. They could throw mountains and things of that nature. Like the Titans, they too tried to destroy Olympus. If these are the same giants–”

“Chiron said it was happening again,” Jason says. “The last chapter–that’s what he meant. No wonder he didn’t want us to know all the details.”

Leo whistles. “So…giants who can throw mountains. A wolf-mother who will eat us if we show weakness. Evil Starbucks drinks. Got it. Maybe not the best time to bring up my psycho babysitter.”

“You’re joking,” Piper says.

Leo tells them about Tîa Callida, who was Hera, and how she’d appeared to him at camp. He fills them in on his past. How his mom died. And finally tells them about a woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep.

“That’s disturbing…” says Piper.

“Bout sums it up. The thing is everyone says not to trust Hera. And the prophecy says we’ll unleash death if we cause her rage. So… I gotta ask…why are we doing this?”

“Because the gods–she chose us,” Della sighs, “I will admit you guys have it a bit rougher than my first quest.”

“What do you mean?” Jason asks.

“You,” she points at Jason. “Have no memory. But I’m not that worried about your fighting ability. This is definitely not your first quest.” She looks over at Leo and Piper. “You two have absolutely no training. At least Percy and I had two weeks…then again we were twelve…”

“You were twelve?!?!” Piper and Leo say in disbelief.

“You only had two weeks of training?” asks Jason.

Della shrugs and smiles a bit. “ Zeus accused me and Percy of stealing his master bolt. Even though we didn’t know we were half-bloods.”

“Holy–how’re you alive?”

“Luck?” Della laughs. “Anyways the other reason we have to do this is–this quest will kick off something bigger. This is an antecedent.”

“And helping Hera is the only way to get back my memory. That dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding off Hera’s energy. If that thing unleashes a king of giants by destroying Hera–”

“Not a good trade-off,” Piper agrees. “At least Hera is on our side.”

“Mostly–she’s the peacekeeper. The only thing that keeps the gods from annihilating each other,” Della chimes in.

Jason nods, “Chiron said worse forces are stirring on the day of the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all–something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed that day. And a mistress who’s controlling storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all demigods–”

“Might be that weird sleeping dirt lady.” finishes Leo.

“If she’s asleep that means we have some time,” says Della.

“Yeah, Dirt Woman fully awake,” Leo says, “not something I want to see.”

“But who is she?” Jason asks, “And what does she have to do with the giants?”

Good questions, no answers. The wind blew colder the further north they went.

Della rubs her hands together to keep warm and then rubs at her eyes.

“Hey,” Jason leans forward, “get some sleep, Ariel. We need our guide.”

“I’ll take you up on that Hercules. You do the same,” she whispers.

She closes her eyes and dozes off.

#oc character #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #percy and annabeth #percyjacksonxsister!reader #jason grace x jackson!reader #fanfic #jason grace x reader

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thebigqueer · 5 months

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"Crooked Glasses" - Valgrace - One-Shot

Summary: leo & jason confess their feelings for each other in an arcane-themed alternate universe. Word Count: 5620 TW: blood, violence, gore (sort of). Read on AO3

Jason knows it’s probably a bad idea to be playing with Leo’s newest stink bomb. He has no idea how it works, and it’s possible he might just trigger it, but he doesn’t really care. He needs a distraction.

They’re in the training room, for whatever reason. Leo didn’t really give Jason much explanation other than, “I’m bored. Come with me.” And Jason, being Jason, didn’t think twice about following. It’s a natural instinct at this point — Leo tells him to do something, and he’s already on his knees, ready to do whatever it is Leo tells him. It should embarrass him, but he’s too desperate for any moment alone with him to care.

Leo’s on the other side of the room, in the corner with the punching bag and a few other various machines. Jason can hear him clanging around, probably trying to be interested in doing something, but Jason hopes he gives up. They only just came back from their latest haul an hour ago, and he has no energy to do anything but sit here and play with Leo’s bomb.

So he’s not surprised when, eventually, Leo calls, “Jason!”

Jason suppresses a groan, fixes his glasses, and looks up. “What?”

“Fight with me.” Leo gestures to the machine next to him, which has painted faces and bright lights whirring now that Leo’s turned it on. Instead of waiting for an answer from Jason, he immediately starts putting on boxing gloves from a box on the floor.

“Leo, I’m tired.” Jason shakes the bomb in his hand. “How do you turn this on?”

“You’re just afraid you’re gonna lose,” Leo jeers, throwing over a grin. As he starts tightening on his next glove, he stalks over. “What could you possibly be tired from?”

“Being around you all day.”

“If it weren't for me, you’d have no excitement in your life, Sparky.” Leo slides down next to Jason, nudging him with his shoulder playfully, and Jason’s heart pounds at the touch. He buries his gaze back into the stink bomb, if only to try to hide the blush raging across his face right now.

At this point, he’s decided there’s no use denying his crush on Leo. It’s been there since they were fourteen, maybe even before, and he’s learned to live with the ache in his chest at every sight of him and the ringing in his stomach every time he said something flirtatious. After all, if he can’t get rid of it, he might as well accept it as a part of him.

For a good portion of his crush, he was sure that Leo had no idea. He was convinced that in all his time staring longingly at him from across the room, he’d never notice. But it’s not like he entirely hated that, though — he liked where they were in their friendship, and he didn’t see a point in ruining something that mattered so much to him. Besides, he never was good with crushes.

For example, when they were twelve, he had a small thing for Piper. But that got shut down real quick when, during one of their sleepovers, Piper crawled over to him and, staring at him with her big eyes, asked him if Thalia liked girls. That was when Jason realized she might not like him back.

There was also Luke when he was thirteen. Jason, Leo, and Percy worked with the pawn shop owner in the Lanes, where they met him. Jason was pretty sure he wasn’t the only person totally gutted for him, based on the way Leo and Percy would blush around him, too. It’s not like any of them actually had a chance, because Luke was already nineteen and had a girlfriend, but that didn’t stop the boys from dreaming about him. It was all fun and games, trying to battle each other for even a glimpse of a smile or the smallest laugh — until Luke got arrested for a disruption on Topside. So maybe it was better that he never got the chance to confess.

There was also Percy when they were fourteen, but that was smaller than most of his crushes. If anything, Percy was just a distraction from Jason’s raging feelings for Leo. There was that one night, when the four of them — Jason, Piper, Leo, and Percy — were in the training room, with a bottle of beer that Percy had stolen from his step-dad. Jason and Percy were alone, sitting and watching Piper and Leo drunkenly try to spar each other, when Percy leaned his head against Jason’s shoulder and joked about how stupid Leo looked. Jason doesn’t know what did him in — maybe it was something in the drinks, or maybe it was something in the way Percy’s eyes looked like buttons of the glimmering sea trapped in his eyes. Whatever it was, he couldn’t take back what he did next — he kissed him.

At the time, Percy kissed back. But the next morning Percy told him he had a crush on Annabeth, and that was when Jason started wondering why he was cursed with liking people.

But now, at sixteen, Jason doesn’t feel so nervous with Leo. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s more comfortable with rejection. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s more mature now.

Or maybe it’s the fact that he’s pretty sure Leo might like him back.

Leo has always been flirty. When he casually smirks at Jason and tells him how handsome he looks; when he bites his lip suggestively and tells Jason that no, he doesn’t mind if he changes his shirt in front of him; when Jason asks what’s for dinner and Leo responds, “Not sure, but I know you’re the desert,” Jason doesn’t make much of it. Sure, an occasional blush and an attempt at jokingly flirting back, but Jason knows he doesn’t mean it. Besides, he isn’t special. If Jason had to count the amount of people Leo had made out with just in the past year, it might take both his hands.

But lately it’s been different. There’s a softness in Leo’s eyes when he catches sight of Jason, a more soulful smirk when he offers that they sleep in the same bed, a hopefulness when he asks Jason if he wants to come with him on his next haul.

It’s possible that it’s really just all in Jason’s head. But he doesn’t think he’s imagining the way Leo’s leaning against him now, his bare shoulder brushing against Jason’s own. He doesn’t think he’s imagining the way Leo’s ankle is locked into his. He doesn’t think he’s imagining how close Leo’s lips are, so close that if Jason bowed his head even a bit, he might just be kissing him.

Jason looks away, if only to distract himself from how pretty Leo’s eyes look. He starts shaking the bomb in his hands again. “How do you work this thing?”

Leo rolls his eyes and pushes Jason’s glasses down the bridge of his nose, and he laughs. “Stop playing with it!” Leo demands. “Unless you want to smell bad. Then by all means, do it.”

“Fine.” Jason holds it out for Leo to take back, but Leo only raises his eyebrows and holds out his box-gloved hands. Jason snorts and fixes his glasses. “I’m not going to spar with you, Leo. My neck still hurts from last night.”

“Aw, does he have an owie?” Leo throws off one of his gloves and presses his hand to the side of Jason’s neck, pouting. “Does he need a widdle bandage?”

“That’s weird,” Jason says, but he’s laughing. “Don’t talk like that.”

Leo switches back to his normal voice, but his words bubble as he brushes a finger against Jason’s cheek and says, “You look so cute when you blush, though.”

Jason hesitates before responding. This is one of those moments, again — he knows Leo’s just trying to get a rise out of him. But this time, Jason decides maybe it’s time to start playing his game. He turns to meet Leo’s eyes and, tilting his head, he says, “Then all you have to do is just keep sitting next to me.”

A wave of pride surges through Jason’s chest as Leo’s eyes widen. He wishes he could just frame the blush on Leo’s cheeks and pin it to the wall. He’s quiet for a moment — which Jason considers a pretty epic feat considering Leo never shuts up — but the warm blazing in his eyes and the flushed smile against his lips send Jason’s skin aflame, prickling with anticipation.

Jason sighs, then leans his head back so it rests against the wall. “I feel like we need to talk.”

Leo leans his head back, too, so that he’s following Jasons’ gaze. “About what?”

“I think you know.”

“Jason, just because we’re best friends doesn’t mean I can just read your mind.” Leo taps his head. “Sometimes even the most intelligent people need things spelled out for them.”

Jason lets a beat of silence pass between them. There’s an eagerness in Leo’s eyes, a sort of excitement that has Jason’s own heart thumping. He takes a deep breath, and then, with all the courage he can force out of himself, he murmurs, “Just friends?”

Now Leo’s eyebrows jump in surprise, and he bites on his bottom lip to suppress a grin. “I don’t know,” he says, leaning closer. “Is there something else you had in mind?”

“I think I might have had a couple.”

Leo opens his mouth to say something, and Jason steels himself for whatever response Leo has — but then his face falls and he snaps his gaze to something in the corner of the room. “Did you hear that?” Leo whispers.

Jason’s heart falls in his chest, and he sighs. So much for confrontation. “If you didn’t want to talk about it, then you—”

Leo throws a hand over Jason’s mouth and starts looking around more nervously, a frown carving itself onto his features. “No, I’m serious,” he whispers. “I feel like I heard a… shift. Like metal.”

Now Jason’s own eyebrows scrunch into a frown, and he tilts his head, trying to hone his ears on any sort of noise he can. For a moment, he hears nothing — until, there, he hears a low, frantic whispering…

And it isn’t coming from Leo.

Jason’s eyes widen, anxiety surging through his veins, and he lets out the smallest squeak. Leo takes his hand off Jason’s mouth, his frown deepening, and he leans forward, trying to listen closer. The whispering continues, and while Jason can’t decipher what’s being said, he’s pretty sure it’s coming from behind one of the machines in the far right corner.

“Do you think it’s Piper or Thalia?” Jason asks.

Leo shrugs. “I’m not sure. They’re supposed to be out at the Night Market.” He squints his eyes and cranes his neck up and down, trying to look for some sort of glimpse of the intruders, but after a minute he just shakes his head and glances at Jason. “Better to be on the safe side. Could be thieves.�� He throws off his other glove, leaving both his hands now clad in their wrist wraps, and opens his hand. “Give me the bomb.”

Jason nods confidently, but it’s only a mask to hide how fast his heart is beating. Not just out of anxiety — though that is a big part of it — but rather, because of the determination in Leo’s eyes and the straight set of his mouth and the clench of his fists. The sight of him, so rigid with confidence and courage, makes Jason’s stomach ring with a nauseating yearning. There’s no time Leo looks more attractive than when he’s ready to beat someone’s ass.

Jason drops the bomb into his hand. Leo juts his head towards some of the “weapons” to the corner nearest to them, and Jason realizes he’s telling him to get something in his hands.

He tiptoes over and grabs a bat, and when Leo sees that he’s now properly equipped, he offers the barest nod. He pulls up his fingers and starts counting down: Three, two, one…

And then he launches the bomb.

It lands with a soft clang near the machine in the far corner. For a second, everything’s quiet. Jason briefly wonders if maybe the bomb is defective.

But then a low hissing starts through the bomb, which turns into full blown jets of terrible gas — and then the screaming begins. Two boys jump up from behind the machine, coughing and sputtering and stumbling as fast as they can away from the stink bomb, and Jason would grin if he weren’t so freaked out by them.

Jason raises his bat higher by reflex, and next to him he can feel Leo tensing up, throwing his fists into defensive positions. Even from this far away, his nose burns at the scent of the gas, probably made of some science-y gas that Jason has no idea how to pronounce. His glasses start fogging up, and he has to lower his bat for a second to clean them.

As the haze clears, the figures of the intruders become clearer. One is tall and bulky, with buzzed black hair; the other is lanky and skinny, with curly hair that flops with each cough. At the sight of them, Leo grits his teeth. “You guys. What the hell do you want?”

The beefier one, who Jason realizes is Sherman Yang from the building just a few blocks down, starts to step forward. He coughs a few more times, and then, in a raspy voice, he says, “Relax, Valdez. We’re not here to hurt you, so you can lower your baby hands.” Sherman points a look at Jason and smirks. “And you can lower your bat.”

Leo shakes his head at Jason. Jason only holds onto his bat tighter.

Sherman shrugs. “Suit yourselves. I—”

“Answer the question,” growls Jason. “What do you guys want? How did you even get in?”

“Come on, Grace,” the other boy — who Jason realizes is Connor Stoll — says, rolling his eyes. “You guys make breaking in too easy.” Connor raises his eyebrows at Leo. “Don’t you remember who taught you to pick locks?”

“If you wanted to come in so bad, you could have just knocked.” Leo crosses his arms, so Jason lowers his bat, only a little bit. “What could be so necessary that you had to break in?”

“We’re not here to pick a fight,” Sherman says, and his muscles loosen as he puts his hands on his hips. “We were just looking for something, but since you’ve caught us, might as well ask you.”

“What is it?”

Sherman’s eyes narrow as he steps closer. Leo’s fists rise again, determination reborn in his eyes, and Jason takes that as his cue to raise his bat. Sherman only smirks. “Word on the street is your mommy’s got her hands on some shimmer. We were looking for a fix.”

Leo’s eyes widen ever so slightly, only hinting at his shock. Other than that, though, there are no other tells — at the very least, his reaction could be taken as just a flinch of surprise.

But Jason knows better.

The only people Leo told were Jason, Piper, and Thalia, and he swore to them that they had to keep it a secret. “She didn’t actually tell me until I found a few jars of it,” Leo explained a week ago, his voice shivering as it came out. “But she said she wasn’t using it; she’s only experimenting with it, trying to see what chemical properties it has.”

“Do you believe her?” Piper asked, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Leo looked at Piper, and at the sight of his dark eyes glazing over in fear, Jason’s stomach sank with guilt. “I don’t think I can afford to not believe her.”

It’s not really that she’d had much of a history with drugs in the past, Leo explained to them. Sure, the occasional pipe, but that’s as much as Leo really knew about it. And anyway, she liked to experiment with new chemicals or discoveries at her machine shop when she could get her hands on them. So when shimmer started cropping up, and with barely much information about its effects or how it worked, naturally she was interested in experimenting with it. At least, that’s what Leo was choosing to believe.

“Did you ask her where she got it?” asked Thalia, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Yeah, but she wouldn’t tell me.” Leo took a deep breath, and then he leaned back on his hands and exhaled. “But I trust her. I’ve never had a reason not to.”

At the time, Jason felt a little frustrated. If Leo could have so much trust in his mother, why couldn’t she have the same in him? And why was she hiding the shimmer, anyway? In Jason’s experience, that was the most suspicious thing a parent could do. Why didn’t she just show Leo right away, so he was aware?

Maybe a part of that frustration also came from Jason’s jealousy. The fact that Leo had the privilege to trust his mother so much even when she was acting so suspicious… Jason could never relate. His dad left him and Thalia when they were younger, and their mother went into a life of drinking and sabotage, to the point that she died alone in a bathtub. Their parents left them to fend for themselves, so the fact that Leo’s mother was risking a bond so strong with her son over a science experiment… it just didn’t sit right.

But now, as Sherman’s eyes gleam hungrily at him and Leo, Jason understands why she was so quiet about it. The less information, the better.

“Look, man,” Leo says, stepping forward, his eyes locking onto Shermans. “I don’t know where the hell you heard that, but it’s not true. And anyway, why do you care? Do you know the kinda shit that could do to your body?”

“If it’s not true,” Sherman mutters, thudding closer to Leo, “then why did I hear it?”

“I don’t know,” Leo bites out, and even though he’s at least a head shorter than Sherman, the blazing in his eyes makes even Jason nervous. “But if you don’t step back, the only thing you’ll be hearing is the ringing in your ears when I crack your head against the wall.”

“Look,” Jason calls, and everyone’s gaze turn to him. “Even if it were true, we don’t have anything here. We don’t mess with that. So you can leave and find someone else to get your fix.”

Sherman’s eyes glaze over, and for a second, Jason allows himself to believe he’s finally bored him enough to make him want to leave. But then a revitalized energy broils in his eyes, and he throws Leo to the side and starts walking towards Jason. “That’s cool,” he says, shrugging. “We can do this the hard way, then.”

Jason starts to step back, his heart hammering in his chest. He doesn’t like the hunger in Sherman’s eyes, the cruel grin slicing across his face.

Connor, who’s been quiet up until now, lets out an exasperated sigh. “Man, come on. We can just search the place, and if there’s nothing we can just leave. They’re just kids, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Jason mutters, trying his hardest to keep his voice from breaking. “Doesn’t it look a little pathetic for someone your age to be messing with sixteen-year-olds?”

“Does it?” Sherman cracks his knuckles, and Jason can only think of it as a foreshadowing of the sound his own bones will make soon when Sherman slams him around. “That’s too bad.” Then he whips his gaze to Connor. “We asked nicely, Stoll. If beating them up doesn’t get an answer out of them, then we can leave. Not like they’ll be able to talk, anyway.”

Sherman starts to turn his gaze back towards Jason — and then lets loose a piercing howl when Jason cracks the bat against his left arm.

His face burst with red and he claws for his arm. In the time it takes for him to recover from his shock, Jason’s already back at Leo’s side with his bat raised again and a new rush of adrenaline flooding his veins. Leo offers him a hint of a smile, and all Jason can think about is how anyone would need shimmer when just the sight of him is enough to send him into a frenzy.

“Oh, you think that was funny, don’t you?” Sherman growls, turning on them again. “Don’t worry, I’m going to have a nice laugh, too.”

He charges.

But Leo’s quick on his feet. As soon as Sherman throws out a punch, Leo dodges and kicks him in the ribs. While it doesn’t make him fly away like Jason wishes it would have, he still stumbles back, and that’s as good a win as any.

Sherman straightens and scowls at Leo, then throws a look at Connor. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t just stand there!”

Connor catches Jason’s eyes, and regret flashes across his face before he rushes towards him. Jason raises his bat to strike Connor, too, but this time he doesn’t have the element of surprise — as soon as he starts to bring it down, Connor gets a grip on it, stopping its momentum, and throws it to the side. Jason’s bones shiver with each clacking of the bat, and he looks at Connor in newfound fear.

“Sorry, dude,” Connor mutters, then slams Jason against the wall. His head rings with pain when it collides with the cement, and his glasses slide down the bridge of his nose, but he barely has time to process any of it before Connor throws him to the ground.

Jason groans, his head pounding and his shoulders aching. The lights above him shine too bright, and he has to squint up at Connor, who towers over him as he waits for a sign that Jason’s alive. In the distance, Leo cries out, but Jason’s powerless to stop it; he’s too busy not trying to get murdered himself. He just hopes Sherman has enough sympathy to not kill anyone tonight. It would be really sad if Leo got killed before Jason could even kiss him.

Connor bends over Jason, hands on his knees, and tilts his head. “Come on, dude. Just tell us where it is, or where to find it. We need something. Then we’ll stop.”

“I don’t know anything,” Jason spits. “And the fact you’re so desperate for it is just really embarrassing.”

Connor shakes his head in shame and sighs. He opens his mouth to speak, but whatever he wants to say, Jason beats him to it. “Why do you let him bully you like that?” he demands. He’s really just stalling, trying to gather his strength and think of a plan.

“He’s not bullying me,” Connor scoffs. “We’ve been best friends forever.”

“If he’s not bullying then how come you just do whatever it is he says?” Jason tries to raise an eyebrow. “What happened to earning pride, Connor? Are you really making a name for yourself if you just do whatever it is he says?”

“Man, don’t talk like that.” Connor rolls his eyes. “You sound like some prissy councilor. It’s really not that deep. We’ve just been friends forever.”

“And you’ve known me and Thalia since we first came here. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“None of this is personal. This is just how Sherman is.”

“So you just let him bully you because it’s just how it is?” Jason claws himself up, trying not to hiss through the pain, and the fact that Connor doesn’t seem to acknowledge is only a good thing. “Might as well call yourself a Topsider with that attitude.”

The betrayal striking Connor’s face is all the distraction Jason needs. He pounces, his hands colliding with Connor’s shoulders as he forces him to the ground. Connor wriggles under his weight, and it takes all of Jason’s strength just to keep him down. He catches sight of the baseball bat, which is only a few feet away, but then he looks down at Connor, whose eyes echo with betrayal and frustration, and Jason considers the chances — stand up to get the bat and risk Connor escaping, or keep attacking him?

But in the time that it takes for Jason to make his decision, Connor’s gathered all his strength and shoves Jason off, this time making it his turn to pin Jason by the shoulders. A new rage flames in his eyes, and he opens his mouth to say something, but then Jason kicks Connor in the stomach, yanking any and all words out of him. He grunts and tumbles to the ground, and Jason takes his chance to scramble away and reach for the bat.

When Connor gets back up, holding his stomach, he glares at Jason. “Got your toy? Good. It’s only a fair game.”

Then he charges towards him, arms outreached, his face bubbling with rage. At the last second, just as Connor is about to grab for Jason’s neck, Jason jerks out of the way and extends his leg to trip Connor. He slams face-first into the ground, a sickening crunch following after him, and when he turns onto his back, Jason sees that his nose is a little crooked, blood leaking from his nostril. Guilt starts trickling through Jason’s veins at the sight, but he pretends not to notice it as he leans over Connor and presses the bat against his shoulders. As Connor’s eyes widen, Jason starts dragging the bat so that it digs into his throat. Jason wishes he could say he’s proud to finally have bested him, but Connor’s gasping and blubbering only make Jason’s heart pulse with regret.

“Do you really want to see how the rest of this goes?” Jason asks. He means it to come out as a growl, but it only sputters out of him, like a dying machine trying to exhale its last breaths. “Worst case scenario, you could be lying dead on my ground. Up to you.”

Connor glares at him, and Jason’s about to say something again when, behind him, Leo calls, “Jason!”

Just like that, all of Jason’s attention is violently twisted away. He whips his head at the sound of Leo’s voice, and it takes a moment for his eyes to make sense of the scene before him — Leo stands with a foot over Sherman’s lumpy, unconscious body on the ground, panting and running a hand through his sweat-lined curls. There’s a bit of blood spattered on his face and knuckles, and some dripping off a cut at his temple, but for some reason, the only word that comes to Jason’s mind is godly.

“It’s cool,” Leo pants, nodding towards Connor. “Let him go. I think we’ve reached an agreement.”

Sherman just groans underneath Leo’s foot.

Jason wishes he could have gotten to see Leo beat the Sherman Yang. Not that he’s surprised — testing Leo is the dumbest decision anyone could ever make — but he would’ve loved to proudly announce that he saw every detail of Leo beating his ass.

Jason offers a slight nod, then bares his teeth at Connor. “Consider yourself lucky.”

Then he punches Connor across the jaw and releases his hold on him. Connor rolls over and spits out blood and a tooth on the floor, and Jason briefly wonders how they’re gonna clean all this when they leave.

“Come pick up your friend,” jeers Leo.

Connor struggles to his feet and narrows his eyes at him. He crawls his way to Sherman and, after several minutes of tripping, groaning, and bickering, he gets the two of them onto their feet. Sherman leans against him, one of his legs crookedly bent underneath him and an arm around Connor’s shoulders to keep balance. Now that he’s upright, Jason has a better view of Sherman’s face, and he’s just glad he’s not him right now. His teeth are stained with blood, and a gash on his forehead makes Jason want to rub his own head in sympathy, not to mention the swelling in his cheekbones.

Connor and Sherman limp towards the staircase, but not without a whole lot of threatening on Sherman’s end. “I'll get you for this, Valdez!” he exclaims through his bloodied lip, and Jason has to move out of the way to avoid any of the blood splattering onto him. “Just you fucking wait.”

Jason and Leo watch as Connor tries to drag Sherman up, and it takes another several moments before the thudding on the stairs stops. Jason swears he hears something shatter upstairs, but he figures that’s a problem for later.

Finally, after what feels like ages, a door slams upstairs, and Leo exhales. Jason’s attention turns back to him, and with a start, he notices the exhaustion weighing on Leo’s eyes. Leo runs a hand gingerly against the right side of his ribs, and his breath hitches as he runs over a spot at the center. His right eye is swollen, and next to the blood splattered over his cheek (which Jason is pretty sure is Sherman’s) a bruise starts to form. Another trail of blood leaks from the cut at his temple.

Jason’s chest rings with guilt for him. He fixes his glasses on his nose — which have, by some miracle, not shattered — and walks over. He lays a hand gently on his bicep, and at the touch, Leo looks up, pain sizzling in his eyes. “You alright?” Jason murmurs.

Leo takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I will be.” He does his best to straighten himself and smirks. The pain in his eyes gives way to glimmering adrenaline, and Jason can only hope that he doesn’t hear the way his heart is beating at the very sight. “That was eventful.”

“Yeah.” Jason huffs out a laugh. “I can’t believe you beat up Sherman. He’s literally so much taller than you. And stronger.”

“Are you surprised?”

“No.” Jason smiles. “I think I’ve gotten used to you impressing me.”

“Don’t say that.” Now Leo steps closer, his eyes simmering with electricity, and some of that energy must transfer into Jason because he swears he can feel his blood singing. “It’ll make it harder for me to impress you.”

He locks eyes with Jason. And then, after a beat of silence, he rests his hand on his chest.

Underneath the weight of his palm, Jason’s heart ticks like a bomb; if Leo moves his hand even a little bit, he might just explode. Despite all the pain in Jason’s body — the overwhelming ringing in his head, the throbbing pain in his shoulders, the pulsing in his back — all he can feel is the warmth of Leo’s hand over his T-shirt.

Jason’s gaze is glued to the hand on his chest, and he has to force himself to look back at Leo again, but that only makes matters worse. Leo’s eyes, so big and brown and brilliant, like stars captured in dense amber, swallow him whole. Even with all the scars and bruises and blood mapped onto his face, Jason decides that he’s never looked so mesmerizing.

“You have something on your here,” Jason whispers. He raises his hand and brushes his thumb against Leo’s cheek, wiping away most of the blood. Even though he gets most of it off, it still smears across his skin.

Leo smiles, but doesn’t move his eyes away from Jason’s. “We should frame it,” he murmurs. “‘Sherman Yang’s blood.’”

“Yeah,” Jason breathes.

Leo squints at him, then reaches for Jason’s glasses and fidgets with them. “They’re crooked.”

Jason smiles. “No, they weren’t.”

“No.” Leo returns the smile. “They weren’t.”

And then he kisses Jason.

Jason’s brain sizzles into static. All he can hear is the ringing in his head and his heartbeat echoing in his ears, and he’s certain that he has a concussion, because his senses are completely overloaded. He swears he can taste sound.

But he comes to senses quick enough. He closes his eyes and lays his hands on Leo’s waist. Leo wraps his arms around Jason’s neck as he tugs him closer, and he smiles against his lips. Jason loves the way he has to get on his tip-toes just to kiss him properly. He loves having to hold him just to make sure he doesn’t trip. He loves kissing Leo, period.

It’s better than he could have ever imagined. He might just have to thank Sherman for this.

But just as Jason’s getting used to this, Leo pulls away, and it takes all of Jason’s power to not just pull him right back in.

“Is there anything you want to tell me, Jason?” Leo asks coyly, brushing his hand against Jason’s neck.

Jason smiles, then takes Leo’s hand and rubs his thumb — the one not covered with blood — over his knuckles. He runs over all the calluses and cuts and scars raised above his skin, and he has to fight the urge to kiss all of it. “I do, actually,” he murmurs, chewing on his bottom lip. “I think I like you. And I think you like me, too.”

“‘Like’ is a strong word,” Leo says, squinting in feigned contemplation. “I would say ‘tolerate,’ maybe.” Then he tilts his head. “But if you keep kissing me like that, I might reconsider.”

Jason kisses him again. “What about now?”

“Well, scientifically-speaking, you can’t have a theory without—”

Jason kisses him again, if only to make him shut up.

#valgrace #percy jackson and the olympians #jason grace #leo valdez #riordanverse #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #pjo #hoo #toa #arcane au #valgrace fanfic #valgrace fic #jason grace fanfic #jason grace fic #leo valdez fanfic #leo valdez fic

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seaweedwolf · 7 months

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I'm going to probably get a lot of hate for this...

But I can't stand Leo Valdez?

I'm rereading TLH, and he's so insufferable. Everything is about him. It clicked why i don't, when i got to the thalia meeting. He shows its not because he viewed themselves as three close friends and feeling like a third wheel because his friends are connecting well amd progression to a new chapter maybe but omg how come I can't have a lost sister or dad been kidnapped by a giant? Ooh look a hot girl. Oh, I'm a mechanic, never mind. This is just what he is throughout the whole series, and it never changes?

I think his backstory is great. His truama and running away are super interesting? I love the adhd showing in his constant moving and the way he thinks at times. Fire power is very interesting how it handled, the tool belt, yes, a creative magical otem. Festus oof, (actually i could rant about the lost potential of Festus?Heartbreaking. But he's never changed centrally.

I think if there was a clear character progression similar to Apollo, then I know he would be changing as a better person, but he stays himself as he did at the start. Look at how he treats Percy and Frank. even how he treats Calypso and other girls? There's a hint at the end of TOA that I can get behind because yeah ooh something new? But the rest is just the same, and it's too late. Sadly, he was the most popular of the Lost trio, so he didn't get radically altered like Piper and Jason (which I'm really enjoying rereading their povs?)

He's never truly apoplectic, and the self-centredness and the self-importance, even througj he will deny it makes him insufferable, the blame on everyone but himself.

#pjo #leo valdez #percy jackson #pjo hoo toa #hoo #annabeth chase #he's my least favourite character of the seven #i could rant so much about him

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slipping-through-my-fingertips · 2 months

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In My Head, I’m Yours

Epilogue: Wrapped Around Your Finger

Ao3

A/n: this was so fun to write, I’ll probably do more Percabeth fics in the future 🥰

2 years later

Delphi is back in the same bar where Annabeth first saw Percy. Unlike that night, no one can just walk in and expect to see them. There’s a line of fans waiting for the doors to open; all of whom got their tickets over 6 months ago. It’s completely sold out. Annabeth walked around the building to the stage door, knocked 3 times, until a bouncer appeared. He checked her pass before letting her in.

She found the dressing room easily as there were only two rooms back here. One of which she felt couldn’t really be called a bathroom, as it was most likely an old storage room now turned bathroom.

Annabeth knocked on the other door and Jason shouted come in.

“Annabeth!” Piper exclaimed, running over to hug her.

The two girls have become extremely close in the last year. Even though Piper had seen her only hours ago, she was hugging her like it had been months.

“Can you let go of my girlfriend now?” Percy asked.

Annabeth could see him over Piper’s shoulder but his comments only made Piper hold tighter.

“You hog her,” Piper said, “she’s mine tonight.”

Jason butted in and playfully pulled his girlfriend away from Annabeth, who was laughing at their antics. She was distracted enough by Piper jokingly trying to escape Jason’s hold on her in order to tattle Annabeth again that Annabeth didn’t realize how close Percy was to her. So when she was pulled into a kiss, it took a second before her lips caught up to her brain.

Kissing Percy never got old. His hands were on her exposed back pressing her closer to him. He was warm and smelled like the ocean. It was a new cologne Annabeth had gotten him for his birthday a few weeks ago. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against hers.

“You’re always mine,” he told her, low enough that it was just between them.

“As long as you’re always mine too,” she replied.

Watching Delphi perform also never got old. From backstage, it definitely had a different feeling than standing in the audience. Some nights, Annabeth likes to be by the bar again remembering the times she sat at the bar with Thalia and Leo, before she knew who Percy was, before she got to call him hers.

He was hers now. The way he smiled at her when he turned around to change instruments. Percy always made her feel like the show was just for her. Even with the bar packed wall to wall, he was still performing for an audience of one.

“We wrote this one a few years ago,” Percy introduced. “It’s about a relationship ending but also hoping it won’t.”

“Luckily for Percy, who released his negative nature into this song, he turned out to be very, very wrong,” Piper added.

“And to this day, she’s got him wrapped around her finger!” Jason said.

“Whatever, stop embarrassing me on stage in front of a live audience!” Percy exclaimed. “I love my girlfriend okay!”

The crowd cheered.

Delphi’s fans knew about Percy’s girlfriend but no one really knew her. Annabeth didn’t get recognized, not even at their gigs. Though she was almost always in attendance. Percy wasn’t that active on social media and Annabeth kept hers private.

She didn’t need him to shout it from the rooftops but whenever he talked about her on stage, her whole face got hot.

And it wasn’t as if they were hiding anything. She was the first person he sought when he came off of the stage. Percy included her in their post-show hugs, which at first Annabeth had found to be rather disgusting but she was learning to love them. He hummed her new songs and played new guitar riffs he was working on before sharing them with his bandmates.

Making all our plans in the Santa Cruz same that night

I thought I had you in my palm of my hand that night

First date

Open communication

Fall in love

Annabeth remembered the deal they made in the California sand.

Their first date hadn’t waited long. After they cleared the air, Percy had lifted her up and kissed her.

“Where are we going?” She asked, allowing herself to be led away from the ocean.

“We have a list to begin checking off,” he answered.

“Oh, do we?”

“I owe a beautiful girl a date.”

They found a 24-hour diner ordered strawberry and chocolate shakes and a plate of curly fries.

“What’s your favorite color?” Percy asked. “Mine’s blue.”

“Well obviously,” she said,

“I’m an open book.” He shrugged.

“I like green,” she replied, “seafoam green.”

“Yeah? Any reason in particular?”

He had a twinkle in his eyes that suggested he knew exactly why. But Annabeth was never one to make things easy for him.

She shook her head. “Nope.” Annabeth sipped her milkshake but she was smirking.

Percy grabbed her hand from across the table.

Going back to her hotel room—Percy was sharing one with his bandmates—and falling into bed together didn’t ruin the sweetness of their first date. In fact, it felt very them.

Screaming at the top of my lungs til my chest felt tight

I told myself that I’m never gonna be alright

You had me wrapped around my finger

Open communication was harder. Even with their chosen safe word, they had their fair share of fights. Their pasts caught up to them, their insecurities made themselves known. But neither of them used riptide.

It wasn’t always something life-alternating that they fought over. Sometimes it was over dirty dishes in the sink or using up all the hot water.

This fight wasn’t over something small. Eight months of calling themselves a couple and this was their biggest fight to date.

Annabeth couldn’t remember exactly how it started. She had come back from the firm, carrying a thousand things in her hands. The blueprints had already fallen twice on the way to her apartment.

Her phone was buzzing in her pocket and she was hoping to any god out there that it wasn’t her work mobile. If she had to stare at one more spreadsheet tonight, Annabeth was going to lose it.

Once inside the apartment, blissfully empty apartment, she dropped all of her things unceremoniously on the floor.

She got a shower and tried to scrub the awful day off of her.

Then the music started. Her terrible, no good, neighbors were playing some bass heavy music at a god awful volume. She was ready to yell at someone, anyone and they had it coming.

Annabeth was ready to march over there and pound on their door until they heard her but when she threw open her door her boyfriend was standing in front of her.

“Hey, I brought dinner,” he said.

She let out a breath. “Hi.”

“You forgot didn’t you?” Percy teased, “we made dinner plans.”

“I did forget, I’m sorry.”

He shrugged and led her inside.

Everything seemed fine. They ate and were watching a movie despite the music from next door. But her anger was sitting there under the surface waiting to explode.

Finally, after turning up the tv again Annabeth jumps up from the couch.

“That’s it!”

Percy grabbed her hand, pulling her back down onto the couch, “Hey, hey, what’s going on?”

They were facing each other now. Annabeth felt warm, literally hot with anger.

“I just had an awful day, I hate my neighbors, and I just want to scream at someone.”

“Tell me about your awful day,” he said, still holding her hand.

She shook her head. “I really don’t want to.”

“You shouldn’t keep it all bottled up, it’s not healthy.”

She knew that but Annabeth wasn’t in the mood for venting. She wanted a fight. Which is probably why she picked one with Percy.

“Percy, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Annabeth tried to keep her voice at a normal volume but he kept pushing.

“Stop! Just stop! You can’t solve all my problems.”

“Not if you don’t let me try.”

Annabeth knew she was yelling but Percy’s voice was steady still. She was almost thankful the music next door was so loud because it downed out their argument.

“I’m just so sick of it!”

“Of what?”

“Oh this! The bad days, the music, and just…”

It was like Percy knew what was coming. He was egging her on.

“Say it!” he dared.

“You! You’re suffocating.”

“Because you won’t talk to me!”

“All we do is talk!”

This went on for longer than Annabeth was proud of. It wasn’t until her eyes welled up with tears that she realized what was happening. She didn’t want to be fighting with her boyfriend.

What she wanted was to snuggle up on the couch and finish their movie.

So she said, “riptide.”

Immediately, Percy froze.

“I’m sorry,” she said, letting some tears escape. “I don’t want to fight. I didn’t mean it.”

He pulled her into his arms and whispered into her hair, “me too, me too.”

They ended up talking about Annabeth’s bad day at work. She complained for the umpteenth time about her neighbors. Percy had probably heard these same complaints from Thalia, Leo and her once a week if not more. She was facing Percy on the couch again, sitting crossed legged and eventually got all of her venting out of her system.

“I don’t think I can help with the work issues, but it sounds like everything will be fixed by Monday because you were just having an off day and everyone’s allowed to have those,” Percy said, “but I do have a solution to the neighbor problem.”

“Really because we’ve been thinking of issuing a formal complaint with the landlord. And I really don’t want it to come to that but we’ve talked to them before and nothing happened…” she rambled.

“I think you should move in with me,” Percy said.

“And the landlord doesn’t exactly like Leo, there was this incident when we first moved in and…wait what did you just say?”

Percy smirked, “Annabeth, will you move in with me?”

Annabeth opened her mouth but nothing came out.

“It doesn’t have to be my place either, we can look for somewhere together.”

She threw herself into his arms and kissed him. Annabeth’s hands wove themselves into his hair pushing his face closer to hers. Percy’s hands were trapped between their stomachs. Annabeth had total control over this kiss; she wrapped her legs around his waist pushing down on his crotch. He was groaning into her mouth so she shut him up by adding her tongue.

She wished she never had to breathe again so she could keep kissing him but she needed to breathe and so did he. Annabeth pressed their foreheads together and cupped his face in her hands.

“I am in love with you,” she told him. “Let’s start looking at places right now.”

“Can’t we finish the movie first?” He asked, but he was smiling at her enthusiasm. “Or maybe go upstairs and make out?”

“Just make out? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” She felt his forehead like he might be running a fever for suggesting such a thing.

“I am in love with you too by the way.”

Annabeth kissed him again.

They never got around to finishing their movie.

I’m wrapped around your finger

When the crowd started cheering for an encore, she knew Delphi couldn’t resist. She made her way backstage to the dressing room.

It was a small space. Annabeth definitely wished she would have designed this building because they were in need of some serious changes.

The dressing room consisted of pairs of tables with matching chairs against the left and right walls with rectangular mirrors hanging above them. These acted as vanities as the bands got ready.

The table Piper used still had her makeup spread out across it. Jason’s had a neatly stacked pile of clothes to change into while Percy’s had a phone charger and his wallet. Percy’s bag was hanging from the chair.

Annabeth’s purse was sitting on the small couch on the back wall of the room. She sat crossed legged at Percy’s table and charged her phone. By the time Delphi got off stage, Annabeth had been scrolling through posts about the show for the past 20 minutes.

greeneyes818: who’s seeing delphi tonite?

piedpiper: @greeneyes818 didnt you go to like the last 5 shows

greeneyes818: @piedpiper yes, and?

piedpiper: @greeneyes818 cu there

Most were about fellow fans meeting up but some stood out to her.

p3rcystan: if percy could stop being hot for like 5 seconds I think I could remember my name

Annabeth had to agree. She was so sucked into it that Percy’s arms around her made her jump. He rested his head on her right shoulder.

“Did you like the show?” He asked, not moving.

“Eh, not your best work.” She shrugged.

Percy quickly spun the chair around and kissed her.

“How about now?”

Annabeth chuckled and tried to stand but her boyfriend pushed her back into the seat.

“Answer me.”

Unfortunately for Annabeth, this side of Percy—the teasingly dominant side—only made her want him more.

“Alright listen,” Jason said, “if you’re gonna hook up backstage at least wait til we leave the room.”

That snapped them out of their daze. Only to find Jason standing with his arms crossed and Piper hiding a laugh behind her hands.

Percy shrugged, clearly not sorry at all.

“I have a hot girlfriend, sue me.”

Annabeth punched his shoulder.

“What?”

“Just hot?” she said.

“Hot, amazingly smart and gorgeous and she does this thing with her…”

Annabeth slapped a hand over his mouth, which only led to Percy licking her palm.

“You’re disgusting, I want to break up.”

At this point, Jason and Piper had packed up and left but Annabeth hadn’t noticed their absence. She didn’t have a chance to think it was strange they left before having a post-show hug.

Percy pouted. “You know you love me…” he sang.

She walked over to the couch to grab her purse. Suddenly, she realized how hungry she was. Leftover pizza at their apartment sounded insanely good right now.

“I might just have cold pizza when we get home because I am…” Annabeth never got to finish her thought before when she turned around Percy was kneeling and holding out a small blue box.

Her lip trembled. Annabeth never thought she was much of a crier but damn it this man in front of her made her feel things she didn’t know existed. And he wanted to marry her.

He wanted her to stay. Forever.

So she did.

#percabeth #Percabeth fanfic #Percabeth fanfiction #my fics

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aroaceleovaldez · 8 months

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i need to know everything about your pjo voltron au

okay so basic plot premise: Thalia, Luke, Jason, Percy, Maria di Angelo, and Bianca all work at the Garrison and get sent on 3 separate missions (Thalia & Luke, Jason & ??? or maybe he's just by himself, then Percy & Maria & Bianca) which are all "lost" and they're declared dead by the Garrison.

Of course they were actually all abducted by aliens. Maria probably dies pretty early on in that whole situation. Thalia gets separated from Luke and ends up escaping and becoming a rebel. Luke, Jason, and Percy & Bianca all separately (except for Percy & Bianca) end up gladiators. Luke becomes The Champion and basically ends up a Kuron/Sendak-type character situation. Is he being mind-controlled? Unclear. He has a giant alien scythe-sword though. Bianca probably dies buying Percy time in the arena. At some point Percy and Jason find each other and decide to try and stick together.

Hazel is a human raised by her galra dad in space with the Blade of Marmora. She knows she has a half-brother through her dad out there somewhere but not anything else about him. She ends up running into Jason and Percy on a mission and helps them escape cause they're humans too.

Back on Earth, Piper, Leo, and Annabeth are all Garrison students. Or Annabeth is possibly in a Keith-type situation where she used to be a student but got Kinda Pissed Off about all her loved ones disappearing into space and ended up getting kicked out. Nico is in a Pidge-type situation where he snuck in as a student under a false name to figure out what happened to his family's mission. Percy and Jason crash on earth, the gang finds them, they find the Blue Lion, and Percy pilots it to the Altean castleship where they meet Reyna and Frank. Reyna is the Altean Princess, because her sister Hylla was queen. Frank is the son of a high-ranking general or something and he and Reyna are a duo.

Rest going under a cut cause this got long -

Lion adventures happen - Annabeth pilots the Green Lion, Jason pilots the Black Lion. Nico finds the Red Lion and meets Hazel when he does and brings her back to the castle. Hazel pilots the Yellow Lion. Nico very quickly realizes he's half-Galra and Hazel's brother and joins the Blade of Marmora. Percy swaps from Blue to the Red Lion. Piper starts piloting the Blue Lion. Leo, Frank, Reyna, and Nico end up the home-base support team. Percy probably keeps the blue paladin armor and Piper gets the spare pink armor for color association reasons and also cause that's usually the format for every iteration of Voltron anyways. It works out nicely. Everybody has extra lion compatibilities too/every Lion has a back-up basically cause I'm still mad vld canon dropped the lion lore/sentience plotlines and we never got cool dynamic lion swapping instead of just the usual single switch. We're having fun here.

Then everything else I don't have much for other than Annabeth and Nico basically swap Keith and Pidge roles once they join Voltron so Nico goes and has his galra identity crisis adventures and Annabeth reunites with Thalia at some point, who is basically in a Matt-type role. And Luke functions as the Sendak-level antagonist who Annabeth probably gets to fight with a swap back to Keith's role in a whole Keith & Kuron emotional situation. Kronos and Gaea are probably analogous to Zarkon and Haggar/Honerva here but not necessarily in that order, and obviously it's more of an either "Emperor and his advisor mom" or "Empress and her prince son" but in either one somebody's doing magic and people are probably getting possessed. Hades, Persephone, Iaepatus/Bob, and Damasen are all with the BoM. The Titans/Giants are probably all Empire generals. Who's Lotor? Octavian? Calypso? I don't know. Who are all the gods? I dunno. We'll workshop it.

#pjo #riordanverse #ask #dreamyzworldlove #vld pjo au #long post //#i think a normal about about the BoM and galra lore okay #i am a simple being. i like worldbuilding. show me funky fluffy purple aliens and i will be invested #i made a whole translation of their alphabet so i could write with it #as for the rest -#Annabeth & Luke with the "You're like a brother to me - I love you'' probably constitutes as psychological violence on a meta level #it maps hilariously well though in terms of both narrative function in the au canon #AND meta level comparisons of fandom reactions re: Luke's death / the Kuron fight and relevant quotes in both. the bloodshed...#anyways its too perfect though and im amused by the parallels of meta baggage there so it stays #i am also now rapidly rotating all lotor options in my brain #also Nico joing the BoM is essentially analogous to him running away in TTC #except he's not 10 here so he probably does it with a bit more grace #he probably finds out about his mom and sister. gets real sad. then meets Hazel #and finds out she's his sister and their dad is around and he goes ''...okay. im okay now.''

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thewidowsghost · 1 year

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Seeing the Beauty (Piper McLean x Fem!Jackson!Reader) - Chapter 9

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Jason doesn't want to leave Leo, but he starts to think that hanging out with Cal the hockey jock might be the least dangerous option in this place.

As they climb the icy staircase, Zethes stays behind them, his blade drawn. The guy might look like a disco-era reject, but there is nothing funny about his sword. Jason figures that one hit from that thing would probably turn him into a Popsicle.

Then there is the ice princess. Every once in a while, she'd turn and give Jason a smile, but there is no warmth in her expression. She regards Jason like he is an especially interesting science specimen – one she couldn't wait to dissect.

(Y/n) doesn't seem to notice, but Jason keeps catching the ice princess watching her closely, her eyes greedy.

(Y/n) was worried that they were being led into a trap. If things go bad, she isn't sure that she could get them out alive. Without thinking about it, she takes Piper's hand for reassurance.

The daughter of Aphrodite raises her eyebrows, but doesn't let go. "It'll be fine," Piper says softly. "It's just a talk, right?"

At the top of the stairs, the ice princess looks back and notices the two teens holding hands. Her smile fades. Suddenly, (Y/n)'s hand in Piper's turns ice cold – burning cold. She lets go, her fingers smoking with frost, and so are Piper's.

"Holy fuck," (Y/n) mutters for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

"Warmth is not a good idea here," the princess advises, "especially when I am your best change at staying alive. Please, this way."

Piper gives (Y/n) a nervous frown like, What was that about?

(Y/n) doesn't have an answers. Zethes pokes her in the back with his icicle sword, about half an inch above the small of her back, and a warning signal goes off in (Y/n)'s head – Too close! Too close!

They follow the princess down a massive hallway decked in frosty tapestries.

Freezing winds blow back and forth, and Jason's thoughts move almost as fast. He'd had a lot of time to think while they rode the dragon north, but he feels as confused as ever. Thalia's picture is still in his pocket, though he doesn't need to look at it anymore – her image has burned itself into his mind. It is bad enough not remembering his past, but to know he has a sister out there somewhere who might have the answer and to have no way of finding her. The only thing he knew about Thalia was (Y/n)'s comment earlier about how a statue of Hera had broken her legs.

In the picture, Thalia looks nothing like him. They both have blue eyes, but that is it. Her hair is black, and her complexion is more Mediterranean. Her facial features are sharper – like a hawk's.

Still, Thalia looks so familiar. Hera had left him just enough memory that he could be certain Thalia is his sister. But Annabeth had acted completely surprised when he'd told her, like she'd never heard of Thalia's having a brother. Did Thalia even know about him? How had they been separated?

(Y/n) continues to walk down the hall beside Piper, and she starts questioning the warning signal that had gone off in her head.

The River Styx's current swirls with strange objects – broken toys, ripped-up college diplomas, wilted homecoming corsages – all the dreams people had thrown away as they'd passed from life into death. Looking at the black water, (Y/n) can think of about three million places she'd rather swim.

"So," Percy begins. "We just jump in?

"You have to prepare yourself first," Nico says, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul."

"Sounds fun," (Y/n) mutters.

"This is no joke," Nico warns. There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life. You have to . . ." He glances behind the two children of Poesideon and his eyes widen. Percy and (Y/n) turn and find themselves face-to-face with a Greek warrior.

For a second, Percy thinks he's Ares, because the warrior looked exactly like the god of war – tall and buff, with a cruel, scarred face and closely shaven black hair. He is wearing a white tunic and bronze armor. He holds a plumed war helm under his arm, but his eyes are human – pale green like a shallow sea – and a blood arrow sticks out of his left calf, just above the ankle.

Percy stunk at Greek names, but even he knew the greatest warrior of all time, who had died from a wounded heel.

"Achilles," both (Y/n) and Percy say in unison.

The ghost nods. "I warned the other one not to follow my path. Now I will warn you." He looks first at Percy, and then at (Y/n).

"Luke? You spoke with Luke?" (Y/n) asks, frowning slightly.

"Do not do this," he says. "It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weakness, your failings will increase as well."

"You mean I'll have a bad heel?" Percy asks. "Couldn't we just, like, wear something besides sandals? No offense?"

Achilles stares down at his bloody foot. "The heel is only my physical weakness, demigod. My mother, Thetis, held me there when she dipped me into the Styx. What really killed me was my own arrogance. Beware! Turn back!"

And (Y/n) knows he means it. There is regret and bitterness in his voice. He was honestly trying to save them from a terrible fate.

But then again – Luke hadn't turned back. That's why he had been able to host the spirit of Kronos without his body disintegrating. This is how he'd prepared himself, and why he seemed impossible to kill. He'd bathed in the Styx and taken on the power of the greatest moral hero, Achilles. He was invincible.

(Y/n) exchanges a look with her brother.

"We have to," (Y/n) speaks for both of them. "Otherwise, we don't stand a chance."

Achilles lowers his head. "Let the gods witness that I tried. Heroes, if you mist do this, concentrate on your moral point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. THis is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No moral must be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what keeps you moral, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."

"I don't suppose you could tell us Luke's mortal point?" Percy asks.

He scowls at Percy. "Prepare yourself, foolish boy. Whether you survive this or not, you have sealed your doom!"

With that happy thought, he vanishes.

"Percy," Nico says, "maybe he's right."

"This was your idea."

"I know, but now that we're here—"

"Just wait on the shore. If anything happens to us . . . Well, maybe Hades will get his wish, and you'll be the child of the prophecy after all."

He doesn't look pleased about that, but (Y/n) doesn't care.

Before she could change her mind, (Y/n) concentrates on the small of her back — a tiny point just opposite her navel, a point well defended when she wore her armor. It would be hard to hit by accident, and few enemies would aim for it on purpose. No place is perfect, but this seemed right to her, and a lot more dignified than, like, her armpit or something.

(Y/n) pictures a string, a bungee cord connecting her to the world from the small of her back. And (Y/n) and Percy step into the river.

"Hey," Piper's voice tears (Y/n) back to the present. She touches (Y/n)'s arm. "You still with me?"

"Yeah . . . I . . . Yeah, sorry," (Y/n) murmurs, and Piper meet's (Y/n)'s gaze for a moment.

(Y/n) is grateful for Piper. She needed a friend, and (Y/n) is glad she started losing the Aphrodite blessing. Her makeup is fading, and her hair is slowly going back to its old choppy style with the cute little braids down the sides. It made her look more real, and as far as (Y/n) is concerned, more beautiful.

She is sure now that they'd never known each other before the Grand Canyon. Their friendship was just a trick of the Mist in Piper's mind, but the longer (Y/n) spends with her, the more she wishes it had been real. That she had known Piper longer than a day and a half.

Stop that, she tells herself. It isn't fair to Piper, thinking that way.

At the end of the hallway, the demigods find themselves in front of a set of oaken doors carved with a map of the world. In each corner is a man's bearded face, blowing wind. (Y/n) is pretty sure she'd seen maps like this before, but in this version, all the wind guys are Winter, blowing ice and snow from every corner of the world.

The princess turns. Her brown eyes glitter, and Jason feels like he is a Christmas present she is hoping to open. "This is the throne room," she says. "Be on your best behavior, Jason Grace. My father can be . . . chilly. I will translate for you, and try to encourage him to hear you out. I do hope he spares you. We could have such fun."

Jason guesses this girl's definition of fun was not the same as his. "Um, okay," he manages. "But really, we're just here for a little talk. We'll be leaving right afterward."

The princess smiles. "I love heroes. So blissfully ignorant."

Piper rests her hand on her dagger. "Well, how about you enlighten us? You say you're going to translate for us, and we don't even know who you are. What's your name?"

The girl sniffs with distaste. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't recognize me. Even in the ancient times the Greeks did not know me well. Their island homes were too warm, too far from my domain. I am Khione, daughter of Boreas, goddess of snow."

She stirs the air with her finger, and a miniature blizzard swirls around her – big, fluffy flakes as soft as cotton.

"Now come," Khione says. The oaken door blows open, and cold blue light spills out of the room. "Hopefully you will survive your little talk."

Mist hangs in the air. (Y/n) shivers, slipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket, and she clutches her pen in her pocket. Along the walls, purple tapestries show scenes of snowy forests, barren mountains, and glaciers. High above, ribbons of colored light — the aurora borealis — pulses along the ceiling. A layer of snow covers the floor, so (Y/n) has to step carefully. All around the room stand life-size ice sculpture warriors — some in Greek armor, some medieval, some in modern camouflage — all frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.

At least Jason thought they were sculptures. Then he tries to step between two Greek spearmen, and they move with surprising speed, their joints cracking and spraying ice crystals as they cross their javelins to block Jason's path.

From the far end of the hall, a man's voice rings out in a language that sounds like French. The room is so long and misty, Jason can't see the other end; but whatever the man says, the ice guards uncross their javelins.

"It's fine," Khione says. "My father has ordered them not to kill you just yet."

"Super," Jason replies.

Zethes prods him in the back with his sword. "Keep moving, Jason Junior."

"Please don't call me that."

"My father is not a patient man," Zethes warns, "and the beautiful Piper, sadly, is losing her magic hairdo very fast. Later, perhaps, I can lend her something from my wide assortment of hair products."

"Thanks," Piper grumbles.

They keep walking, and the mist parts to reveal a man on an ice throne. He is sturdily built, dressed in a stylish white suit that seems woven from snow, with dark purple wings that spread out to either side. His long hair and shaggy beard are encrusted with icicles, so (Y/n) can't tell if his hair is gray or just white with frost. His arched eyebrows make him look angry, but his eyes twinkle more warmly than his daughter's — as if he might have a sense of humor buried somewhere under that permafrost. (Y/n) hoped so.

"Bienvenu," the king says. "Je suis Boreas Le Roi. Et vous?"

Khione the snow goddess is about to speak, but Piper steps forward and curtsied. "Votre Majesté," she says. "Je suis Piper McLean. Et voici Jason, fils de Zeus. Et (Y/n) Jackson, fille de Poséidon."

The king smiles with pleasant surprise. "Vous parlez français? Très bien!"

"Piper, you speak French?" (Y/n) asks.

Piper frowns. "No. Why?"

"You just spoke French."

Piper blinks. "I did?" The king said something else, and Piper nodded. "Oui, Votre Majesté."

The king laughs and claps his hands, obviously delighted. He says a few more sentences then sweeps his hand toward his daughter as if shooing her away.

Khione looks miffed. "The king says –"

"He says I'm a daughter of Aphrodite," Piper interrupts, "so naturally I can speak French, which is the language of love. I had no idea. His Majesty says Khione won't have to translate now.

Behind them, Zethes snorts, and Khione shoots him a murderous look. She bows stiffly to her father and takes a step back.

The king sizes up Jason, and Jason decides it would be a good idea to bow. "Your Majesty, I'm Jason Grace. Thank you for, urn, not killing us. May I ask . . . why does a Greek god speak French?"

Piper has another exchange with the king. "He speaks the language of his host country," Piper translates. "He says all gods do this. Most Greek gods speak English, as they now reside in the United States, but Boreas was never welcomed in their realm. His domain was always far to the north. These days he likes Quebec, so he speaks French."

The king says something else, and Piper turns pale. "The king says . . ." She falters. "He says —"

"Oh, allow me," Khione says, smirking. "My father says he has orders to kill you. Did I not mention that earlier?"

(Y/n) tenses. The king was still smiling amiably, like he'd just delivered great news."Kill us?" (Y/n) asks. "Why?"

"Because," the king says, in heavily accented English, "my lord Aeolus has commanded it."

Boreas rises. He steps down from his throne and furls his wings against his back. As he approaches, Khione and Zethes bow. Jason, (Y/n), and Piper follow their example.

"I shall deign to speak your language," Boreas says, "as Piper McLean has honored me in mine. Toujours, I have had a fondness for the children of Aphrodite. As for you, Jason Grace, my master Aeolus would not expect me to kill a son of Lord Zeus . . . without first hearing you out." Boreas then sizes up (Y/n). "As for you, Jackson. I'm sure your upstart father wouldn't mind. He has replacements."

Piper watches (Y/n)'s jaw tense, and (Y/n) pulls a hand from her pocket, still clutching her pen. If she was forced to fight, Piper doesn't like her friend's chances. Two seconds at least to summon her blade. Then she'd be facing a god, two of his children, and an army of freeze-dried warriors.

"Aeolus is the master of the winds, right?" Jason asks quickly, taking Boreas's attention off of (Y/n). "Why would he want us dead?"

"You are demigods," Boreas replies, as if this explained everything. "Aeolus's job is to contain the winds, and demigods have always caused him many headaches. They ask him for favors. They unleash winds and cause chaos. But the final insult was the battle with Typhon last summer . . ."

Boreas waves his hand, and a sheet of ice like a flat-screen TV appears in the air. Images of a battle flicker across the surface — a giant wrapped in storm clouds, wading across a river toward the Manhattan skyline. Tiny, glowing figures — the gods, Jason guesses — swarm around him like angry wasps, pounding the monster with lightning and fire. Finally the river erupts in a massive whirlpool, and the smoky form sinks beneath the waves and disappears.

"The storm giant, Typhon," Boreas explains. "The first time the gods defeated him, eons ago, he did not die quietly. His death released a host of storm spirits — wild winds that answered to no one. It was Aeolus's job to track them all down and imprison them in his fortress. The other gods — they did not help. They did not even apologize for the inconvenience. It took Aeolus centuries to track down all the storm spirits, and naturally this irritated him. Then, last summer, Typhon was defeated again —"

"And his death released another wave of venti," Jason guesses. "Which made Aeolus even angrier."

"C'est vrai," Boreas agreed.

"But, Your Majesty," Piper says, "the gods had no choice but to battle Typhon. He was going to destroy Olympus! Besides, why punish demigods for that?"

The king shrugs. "Aeolus cannot take out his anger on the gods. They are his bosses, and very powerful. So he gets even with the demigods who helped them in the war. He issued orders to us: demigods who come to us for aid are no longer to be tolerated. We are to crush your little mortal faces."

There is an uncomfortable silence.

"That sounds . . . extreme," Jason ventures. "But you're not going to crush our faces yet, right? You're going to listen to us first, 'cause once you hear about our quest —''

"Nfes, yes," the king agrees. "You see, Aeolus also said that a son of Zeus might seek my aid, and if this happened, I should listen to you before destroying you, as you might — how did he put it? — make all our lives very interesting. I am only obligated to listen, however. After that, I am free to pass judgment as I see fit. But I will listen first. Khione wishes this also. It may be that we will not kill you."

Jason feels like he can almost breathe again. "Great. Thanks."

"Do not thank me." Boreas smiles. "There are many ways you could make our lives interesting. Sometimes we keep demigods for our amusement, as you can see." He gestures to the various ice statues.

Piper makes a strangled noise. "You mean – they're all demigods? Frozen demigods? They're alive?"

"An interesting question," Boreas concedes, as if it had never occurred to him before. "They do not move unless they are obeying my orders. The rest of the time, They are merely frozen. Unless they were to melt, I suppose, which would be very messy.

Khione steps behind (Y/n), and places her cold fingers on her neck. "My father gives me such lovely presents," she murmurs in (Y/n)'s ear. "Join our court. Perhaps I'll let your friends go."

"What?" Zethes breaks in. "If Khione gets this one, then I deserve the girl. Khione always gets more presents!"

"Now, children," Boreas says sternly. "Our guests will think you are spoiled! Besides, you moved too fast. We have not even heard the demigod's story yet. Then we will decide what to do with them. Please, Jason Grace, entertain us."

Jason feels his brain shutting down. He doesn't look at (Y/n) or Piper for fear he'd completely lose it. He'd gotten them into this, and now they are going to die — or worse, they'd be amusements for Boreas's children and end up frozen forever in this throne room, slowly corroding from freezer burn.

Khione purrs, padding over to Jason, and stroking his neck. Jason doesn't plan it, but electricity sparks along his skin. There is loud pop, and Khione flies backward, skidding across the floor.

Zethes laughs. "That is good! I'm glad you did that, even though I have to kill you now."

For a moment, Khione is too stunned to react. Then the air around her begins to swirl with a micro-blizzard. "You dare —"

"Stop," Jason orders, with as much force as he can muster. "You're not going to kill us. And you're not going to keep us. We're on a quest for the queen of the gods herself, so unless you want Hera busting down your doors, you're going to let us go." He sounds a lot more confident than he feels, but it gets their attention. Khione's blizzard swirls to a stop. Zethes lowers his sword. They both look uncertainty at their father.

"Hmm," Boreas says. His eyes twinkle, but Jason can't tell if it is with anger or amusement. "A son of Zeus, favored by Hera? This is definitely a first. Tell us your story."

Jason would've botched it right there. He hadn't been expecting to get the chance to talk, and now that he could, his voice abandoned him.

Piper saves him. "Your Majesty." She curtsies again with incredible poise, considering her life is on the line. She tell Boreas the whole story, from the Grand Canyon to the prophecy, much better and faster than Jason could have.

"All we ask for is guidance," Piper concludes. "These storm spirits attacked us, and they're working for some evil mistress. If we find them, maybe we can find Hera."

The king strokes the icicles in his beard. Out the windows, night had fallen, and the only light comes from the aurora borealis overhead, washing everything in red and blue.

"I know of these storm spirits," Boreas says. "I know where they are kept, and of the prisoner they took."

"You mean Coach Hedge?" (Y/n) questions. "He's alive?"

Boreas waves aside the question. "For now. But the one who controls these storm winds . . . It would be madness to oppose her. You would be better staying here as frozen statues."

"Hera's in trouble," Jason says. "In three days she's going to be — I don't know — consumed, destroyed, something. And a giant is going to rise."

"Yes," Boreas agrees. He shoots Khione an angry look. "Many horrible things are waking. Even my children do not tell me all the news they should. The Great Stirring of monsters that began with Kronos – your father Zeus foolishly believed it would end when the Titans were defeated." The king glances at (Y/n) and Piper and Jason look at the daughter of Poesidon. "But just as it was before, so it is now. The final battle is yet to come, and the one who will wake is more terrible than any Titan. Storm spirits — these are only beginning. The earth has many more horrors to yield up. When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades . . . Olympus has good reason to fear."

Jason isn't sure what all this means, but he doesn't like the way Khione is smiling — like this is her definition of fun.

"So you'll help us?" Jason asks the king.

Boreas scowls. "I did not say that."

"Please, Your Majesty," Piper says. Everyone's eyes turn towards her. She had to be scared out of her mind, but she looks beautiful and confident — and it has nothing to do with the blessing of Aphrodite. She looks like herself again, in day-old traveling clothes with choppy hair and no makeup. But she almost glows with warmth in that cold throne room. "If you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to Aeolus. You'd look good in front of your boss. Aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. We could even rescue Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins."

"She's pretty," Zethes mumbles. "I mean, she's right."

"Father, don't listen to her," Khione says. "She's a child of Aphrodite. She dares to charmspeak a god? Freeze her now!"

Boreas considers this. Jason slips his hand in his pocket and gets ready to bring out the gold coin. If things go wrong, he'd have to move fast.

The movement catches Boreas's eye. "What is that on your forearm, demigod?"

Jason hadn't realized his coat sleeve had gotten pushed up, revealing the edge of his tattoo. Reluctantly, he shows Boreas his marks.

The god's eyes widen. Khione actually hisses and steps away.

Then Boreas does something unexpected. He laughs so loudly, an icicle cracks from the ceiling and crashes next to his throne. The god's form begins to flicker. His beard disappears. He grows taller and thinner, and his clothes change into a Roman toga, lined with purple. His head is crowned with a frosty laurel wreath, and a gladius — a Roman sword like Jason's — hangs at his side.

"Aquilon," Jason says, though he doesn't know where he gets the god's Roman name from.

The god inclines his head. "You recognize me better in this form, yes. And yet you said you come from Camp Half-Blood?"

Jason shifts his feet. "Uh . . . yes, Your Majesty."

"And Hera sent you there . . ." The winter god's eyes are full of mirth. "I understand now. Oh, she plays a dangerous game. Bold, but dangerous! No wonder Olympus is closed. They must be trembling at the gamble she has taken."

"Jason," Piper says nervously, "why did Boreas change shape? The toga, the wreath. What's going on?"

"It's his Roman form," Jason replies. "But what's going on — I don't know."

The god laughs. "No, I'm sure you don't. This should be very interesting to watch."

"Does that mean you'll let us go?" Piper asks.

"My dear," Boreas says, "there is no reason for me to kill you. If Hera's plan fails, which I think it will, you will tear each other apart. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again."

Jason feels as if Khione's cold fingers are on his neck again, but it isn't her — it's just the feeling that Boreas is right. That sense of wrongness which had bothered Jason since he got to Camp Half-Blood, and Chiron's comment about his arrival being disastrous — Boreas knew what they meant.

"I don't suppose you could explain?" Jason asks.

"Oh, perish the thought! It is not for me to interfere in Hera's plan. No wonder she took your memory." Boreas chuckles, apparently still having a great time imagining demigods tearing each other apart. "You know, I have a reputation as a helpful wind god. Unlike my brethren, I've been known to fall in love with mortals. Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods —"

"Which explains why they are idiots," Khione growls.

"Stop it!" Zethes snaps back. "Just because you were born a full goddess —"

"Both of you, freeze," Boreas orders. Apparently, that word carries a lot of weight in the household, because the two siblings go absolutely still. "Now, as I was saying, I have a good reputation, but it is rare that Boreas plays an important role in the affairs of gods. I sit here in my palace, at the edge of civilization, and so rarely have amusements. Why, even that fool Notus, the South Wind, gets spring break in Cancun. What do I get? A winter festival with naked Quebecois rolling around in the snow!"

"I like the winter festival," Zethes mutters.

"My point," Boreas snaps, "is that I now have a chance to be the center. Oh, yes, I will let you go on this quest. You will find your storm spirits in the windy city, of course. Chicago —"

"Father!" Khione protests.

Boreas ignores his daughter. "If you can capture the winds, you may be able to gain safe entrance to the court of Aeolus. If by some miracle you succeed, be sure to tell him you captured the winds on my orders."

"Okay, sure," Jason says. "So Chicago is where we'll find this lady who's controlling the winds? She's the one who's trapped Hera?"

"Ah." Boreas grins. "Those are two different questions, son of Jupiter."

Jupiter, Jason notices. Before, he called me son of Zeus.

"The one who controls the winds," Boreas continues, "yes, you will find her in Chicago. But she is only a servant — a servant who is very likely to destroy you. If you succeed against her and take the winds, then you may go to Aeolus. Only he has knowledge of all the winds on the earth. All secrets come to his fortress eventually. If anyone can tell you where Hera is imprisoned, it is Aeolus. As for who you will meet when you finally find Hera's cage — truly, if I told you that, you would beg me to freeze you."

"Father," Khione protests, "you can't simply let them —"

"I can do what I like," he says, his voice hardening. "I am still master here, am I not?"

The way Boreas glares at his daughter, it was obvious they had some ongoing argument.

Khione's eyes flash with anger, but she clenches her teeth. "As you wish, Father."

"Now go, demigods," Boreas says, "before I change my mind. Zethes, escort them out safely."

They all bow, and the god of the North Wind dissolves into mist.

. . .

Back in the entry hall, Cal and Leo are waiting for them. Leo looks cold but unharmed. He'd even gotten cleaned up, and his clothes look newly washed, like he'd used the hotel's valet service. Festus the Dragon is back in normal form, snorting fire over his scales to keep himself defrosted.

As Khione led them down the stairs, (Y/n) notices that Leo's eyes follow the ice princess. Leo started combing his hair back with his hands. Uh-oh, (Y/n) thinks. She makes a mental note to warn Leo about the snow goddess later. She was not someone to get a crush on.

At the bottom step, Khione turns to Piper. "You have fooled my father, girl. But you have not fooled me. We are not done. And you, (Y/n) Jackson, I will see you as a statue in the throne room soon enough."

"Boreas is right," (Y/n) says. "You're a spoiled kid. See you around, ice princess."

Khione's eyes flare pure white. For once, she seems at a loss for words. She storms back up the stairs — literally. Hallway up, she turns into a blizzard and disappears.

"Be careful," Zethes warns. "She never forgets an insult."

Cal grunts in agreement. "Bad sister."

"She's the goddess of snow," Jason says. "What's she going to do, throw snowballs at us?" But as he says it, Jason has a feeling Khione could do a whole lot worse.

Leo looks devastated. "What happened up there? You made her mad? Is she mad at me too? Guys, that was my prom date!"

"We'll explain later," Piper promises, but when she glances at Jason, he realizes she expected him to explain.

What had happened up there? Jason isn't sure. Boreas had turned into Aquilon, his Roman form, as if Jason's presence caused him to go schizophrenic.

The idea that Jason had been sent to Camp Half-Blood seemed to amuse the god, but Boreas/Aquilon hadn't let them go out of kindness. Cruel excitement had danced in his eyes, as if he'd just placed a bet on a dogfight.

You will tear each other apart, the king had said with delight. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again.

Jason looks away from Piper, trying not to show how unnerved he is. "Yeah," he agrees, "we'll explain later."

"Be careful, pretty girl," Zethes says. "The winds between here and Chicago are bad-tempered. Many other evil things are stirring. I am sorry you will not be staying. You would make a lovely ice statue, in which I could check my reflection."

"Thanks," Piper says. "But I'd sooner play hockey with Cal."

"Hockey?" Cal's eyes light up.

"Joking," Piper says quickly. "And the storm winds aren't our worst problem, are they?"

"Oh, no," Zethes agrees. "Something else. Something worse."

"Worse," Cal echoes.

"Can you tell me?" Piper gives them a smile.

This time, the charm doesn't work. The purple-winged Boreads shake their heads in unison. The hangar doors open onto a freezing starry night, and Festus the Dragon stomps his feet, anxious to fly.

"Ask Aeolus what is worse," Zethes says darkly. "He knows. Good luck."

He almost sounds like he cares what happened to them, even though a few minutes ago he'd wanted to make Piper into an ice sculpture.

Cal pats Leo on the shoulder. "Don't get destroyed," he says, which was probably the longest sentence he'd ever attempted. "Next time—hockey. Pizza."

"Come on, guys." Jason stares out at the dark. He is anxious to get out of that cold penthouse, but he has a feeling it was the most hospitable place they'd see for a while. "Let's go to Chicago and try not to get destroyed."

. . .

Piper doesn't relax until the glow of Quebec City fades behind them.

"You were amazing," (Y/n) tells her.

The compliment should've made Piper's day, but all she can think about is the trouble ahead. Evil things are stirring, Zethes had warned them. She knew that firsthand. The closer they get to the solstice, the less time Piper had to make her decision.

She tells (Y/n) in French: "If you knew the truth about me, you wouldn't think I was so amazing."

"What'd you say?" (Y/n) asks.

"I said I only talked to Boreas. It wasn't so amazing." Piper doesn't turn to look at her, but she can imagine the daughter of Poseidon smiling.

"Hey," she says. "You saved me from joining Khione's subzero hero collection. I owe you one."

That's definitely the easy part, Piper thinks. There was no way Piper would've let that witch keep (Y/n), and then she takes a moment to wonder where the strong feelings had come from. The night before, she'd been worried about her relationship with Jason, but now she was protecting (Y/n).

Piper is lost in her thoughts, and she starts when Jason passes her back a sandwich – from Leo. The son of Hephaestus had been quiet ever since they'd told him what had happened in the throne room. "I still can't believe Khione," he says. "She looked so nice."

"Trust me, man," (Y/n) says. "Snow may be pretty, but up close, it's cold and nasty. We'll find you a better prom date."

Piper smiles, but Leo doesn't look pleased. He hadn't said much about his time in the palace, or why the Boreads had singled him out for smelling like fire. Piper gets the feeling he's hiding something. Whatever it is, his mood seemed to be affecting Festus, who grumbles and steams as he tries to keep himself warm in the cold Canadian air. Happy the Dragon was not so happy.

They eat their sandwiches as they fly. Piper has no idea how Leo had stocked up on supplies, but he'd even remembered to bring veggie rations for her. The cheese and avocado sandwich was awesome.

Nobody talks. Whatever they might find in Chicago, they all know Boreas had only let them go because he figured they were already on a suicide mission.

The moon rises and the stars turn overhead. Piper's eyes start to feel heavy. The encounter with Boreas and his children had scared her more than she wanted to admit. Now that she has a full stomach, her adrenaline is fading.

Suck it up, cupcake! Coach Hedge would've yelled at her. Don't be a wimp!

Piper had been thinking about the coach ever since Boreas had mentioned that he was still alive. She'd never liked Hedge, but he'd leaped off a cliff to save Leo, and he'd sacrificed himself to protect them on the skywalk. She now realizes that all the times at school the coach had pushed her, yelled at her to run faster or do more push-ups, or even when he'd turned his back and let her fight her own battles with the mean girls, the old goat man had been trying to help her in his own irritating way – trying to prepare he for life as a demigod.

On the skywalk, Dylan the storm spirit had said something about the coach, too: how he'd been retired to Wilderness School because he was getting too old, like it was some sort of punishment. Piper wonders what that was about, and if it explained why the coach was always so grumpy. Whatever the truth, now that Piper knows Hedge was alive, she has a strong compulsion to save him.

Don't get ahead of yourself, she chides. You've got bigger problems. This trip won't have a happy ending. She's a traitor, just like Silena Beauregard. It was only a matter of time before her friends found out.

She looks up at the stars and thinks about a night long ago when she and her dad had camped out in front of Grandpa Tom's house. Grandpa Tom had died years before, but Dad had kept his house in Oklahoma because it was where he grew up.

Piper blinks, shaking herself out of the memory. She realizes she'd been falling asleep on the dragon's back. How could Dad pretend to be so many things he isn't? Trying to do that now was tearing Piper apart.

Maybe she could pretend for a little while longer. She could dream of a way of finding a way to save her father without betraying her friends — even if right now a happy ending seems about as likely as magic hedgehogs.

Piper sleepily leans back against (Y/n)'s chest. The daughter of Poseidon doesn't object, and Piper closes her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

. . .

Piper tumbles through the sky. Far below, she sees city lights glimmering in the early dawn, and several hundred yards away, the body of the bronze dragon spinning out of control, its wings limp, fire flickering in its mouth like a wired lightbulb.

A body shoots past her — Leo, screaming and frantically grabbing at the clouds. "Not coooooool!"

She tries to call out him, but he is already too far below.

Somewhere above her, Jason yells, "Piper, level out! Extend your arms and legs!"

It was hard to control her fear, but she does what he said and regains some balance. She falls spread-eagle like a skydiver, the wind underneath her like a solid block of ice. Then Jason is there, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"We have to get (Y/n) and Leo!" she shouts.

Their fall slows as Jason controls the winds, but they still lurch up and down like the winds didn't want to cooperate.

"Gonna get rough," Jason warns. "Hold on!"

And then, thump! They slam into another warm body – Leo, still wriggling and cursing.

"Stop fighting!" Jason says. "It's me!"

"My dragon!" Leo yells. "You gotta save Festus!

Jason's already struggling to keep the three of them aloft, and Piper knows there is no way he could help a fifty-ton metal dragon.

There is a splash below them in the nearby lake, and then there's an explosion. A fireball rolls into the sky from behind a warehouse complex.

Jason's face reddens with strain as he tries to maintain an air cushion beneath them, all the while looking for (Y/n) below them. Rather than free-falling, intermittent slow-downs are the best that Jason can manage. It feels to Piper as though they were bouncing down a giant staircase, a hundred feet at a time.

As they wobble and zigzag, Piper can make out details of the factory complex below – warehouses, smokestacks, barbed wire fences, parking lots lined with snow-covered vehicles, and a lake. They are still high enough so that hitting the ground would flatten them into roadkill – or skykill – when Jason groans, "I can't –"

And they drop like stones.

They hit the roof of the largest warehouse and crash through into darkness.

Unfortunately, Piper tries to land on her feet. Her feet didn't like that. Pain flares in her left ankle as she crumples against a cold metal surface.

For a few seconds, she isn't conscious of anything but pain – pain so bad that her ears ring and her vision goes red.

Then she hears Jason's voice somewhere below, echoing through the building. "Piper! (Y/n)!"

"Ow, bro!" Leo groans. "That's my back! I'm not a sofa! Piper, where'd you go? (Y/n)?"

"Here," Piper manages, and she realizes she can't hear (Y/n)'s response. She hears shuffling and grunting, and then feet pounding on metal stairs.

Word Count: 6876 words

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