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chasingpj · 3 years

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𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞

"Bye, for now, puddles."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 6,220

warnings: a little angst, missing a meal, death of a parent, i believe that is all.

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story, click here

a/n: hi hi! I'm so excited to finally get this chapter to you guys. I'm sorry this literally took a month. i was taking two writing-intensive courses this summer and i was just burnt out. i hope you enjoy it!

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten

A grunt escapes you; your contorted body weighs down the top of your suitcase as your damp fingers slip off the metal zipper. The unforgivingly humid weather provokes the heat of your efforts, adding to your discomfort. There’s urgency in your fingers, your frustration growing at each failed attempt to close your suitcase.

“Y/n! Hurry up!” Atticus shouts from outside of the Hermes cabin. As the zipper slips out of your grasp once again, you throw your head back in annoyance, hand coming up to push away wisps of hair that fall on your face. A familiar chuckle comes from the corner of the room, grabbing your attention from the wooden ceiling. Connor sits on the side of his bed; his comic book forgotten beside him as you fussing over your suitcase seems to be more interesting to him.

“It’s not funny,” you grumble, sitting onto your heels.

Connor rises from his bed, shrugging his shoulders with a smirk. He kneels by your suitcase, “It’s kinda funny.”

The corners of your mouth almost curve up, but you stop yourself, opting for a roll of your eyes instead.

“What the hades do you have in here?” The tips of his fingers turn white as he pulls on the little piece of metal. You shift your weight to the corner he works on, but it helps him as much as it helped you earlier.

“My brother’s left a bunch of books behind, so Lou Ellen and I split them up. She’s taking half, and I take the rest. We’ll study them and then exchange notes.” A hum of acknowledgment comes from Connor’s lips as he inches the suitcase closed.

“You guys are a bunch of nerds.” You squint at the other with a playful offense, and he laughs at your hardened features. “I bet you guys study more than the Athena Kids,” he teases.

“There’s a lot to learn,” you say simply, watching as he brings the zipper to the end. He leans back on his heels, and you move to take in the half-empty cabin.

The sight of the Hermes cabin being this tidy was foreign. There aren’t any sleeping bags on the floor; the belongings of your many cabin mates didn’t clutter the walls or the corners of the room as they usually do. It’s funny. There are always complaints of the cabin being too small, but it appears bigger without the mess.

“Will you and Atticus visit throughout the year?” Connor’s expression is hopeful. As the last day of camp approached, Connor’s wishes of a full cabin all year round became more apparent. The shift from a max-capacity cabin to a half-empty one must be a tough transition for social people like Stoll Brothers. If it were you, you’d be counting down the days of everyone’s departure.

You ruffle his brown locks, “we’ll probably stop by for, maybe, spring break?” Connor’s hopefulness begins to sag, and you frown. Spring break is pretty far from now, huh? “Depending on how mortal life treats us. You know, we might be back soon,” you add on quickly, hoping to lift his smile.

Though you wish to go home, you’re dreading all the supernatural activity you’ll have to deal with once you leave. Your father works tirelessly to protect the house, but entities always manage to get in. And if they can’t, they don’t mind hanging outside.

The hopefulness that faded from Connor’s face restores, and he gives you that famous mischievous smirk. “Well, I hope the ghosts bother you guys enough to come to visit early.” His tone is playful, but you can tell he meant some of his words. You laugh hesitantly and nod, rising from your suitcase.

“I’m glad you’re that eager to see us again.”

You thank him as he leans down, lifting the heavy suitcase from the ground for you.

“Y/n!”

“I’m coming!” You tug on the handle, glancing at Connor. “The year will go by fast, and soon this cabin will be bursting at the nails with new unclaimed people. Atticus, Lou, and I included. Anyways, you have your brother. You guys will find something to entertain yourselves.” You nudge him as you make your way outside.

“Yeah, you’re right. You will write to me, yeah?” Connor asks.

“Of course. I’ll send you snacks that you can’t buy at the gas station.” Connor’s arm pumps back to his side, hand in a fist as he hisses a “yes.”

The corners up your mouth hesitantly pull up as you push open the cabin door, finding Atticus and Travis talking on the porch. For the past week, the anticipation of your departure was killing you, but now that it was time to leave, you feel gloomy.

You knew the cause of your heavy heart was the uneasy tone of your going. Living day by day with the intention of moving on was hard. Because every time you look at their newly occupied beds, the sinking feeling in your chest returns. Every time you find yourself wandering in the forest, the memories of your often chaotic magic lessons flood your mind. You remember when Alice misaimed her wind spell, shooting Alabaster far into the trees. While you all rushed to check on him, Alice burst into tears because she was convinced she killed him only to approach a laughing Alabaster who shouted, “Right on!”

Every time you were in the Arts and Crafts center, you remember how you, Sage, and Lou would do Tarot Readings for the campers and how you would argue with the Apollo kids when they insisted your tarot cards are as honest as fortune cookies.

At the armory, you remember how Ambrose ran into James so hard, he stumbled and knocked down half of the shelves of weapons.

In the courtyard, you remember how Ernest, horrified by heights, produced the highest pitch scream he possibly could as he rode a pegasus for the first time under the persuasion of Alabaster.

All these memories, whether hilarious like your spell mishaps or bittersweet like when you and your sibling’s group hugged around Sage when she cried about her abusive stepmother, held a special place in your heart. Because the times where you laughed and cried together reminded you of the genuine bond, the family that was ripped away from you overnight.

“We'll see you guys soon. We should go. Argus will leave without us," Atticus says, relieved that Argus is still waiting for you on top of Half-Blood Hill.

“Have a safe trip, guys,” Travis says, patting Atticus’s shoulder before reaching out his arm and giving you a short side hug. You grab your things, hastily saying a final goodbye, and soon, you and Atticus are trudging up the hill.

Your free hand pats the pocket of your shorts, calming your worry of forgetting the necklace at the cabin. What rests in your pocket is a raw tourmaline crystal, now smooth with the help of Beckendorf, encased in a silver spiral cage.

You and Atticus carry protection crystals all the time, and they help with staying out of the radar of monsters and entities. After hearing Percy’s many stories of monsters bothering him, you figured he couldn’t be too cautious. Then after finding a spell in Alabaster’s many books that can dim down a demigod scent for a while, you decided to make him an enchanted necklace to wear.

You pack into the truck with Atticus right on time. Atticus sits in front of you, chatting away with Cecil as you make yourself comfortable in the back row with Ambrose. You frown; among the three other campers in the van with you, Percy isn’t one of them. Argus peeks into the back, doing a rough headcount. Great, now you’ll have to wait until next summer to give it to him.

Right, when you were going to chastise yourself for not giving him the necklace yesterday when you were done with it, a distant voice shouts, "wait!"

Argus halts in the middle of closing the sliding down and turns around. He shakes his head with disapproval while opening the door all the way, revealing out of breath Percy.

A smile widens across your face as he gets into the back seat with you, and you nudge Atticus’s seat.

"See, I told you we wouldn't be the last ones here.” You side-eye Percy, seeing the corners of his mouth pull up in amusement.

“Some people just don’t know how to get to places on time, huh?” Atticus says, and his eyes flicker to Percy before giving you a wide grin.

“Didn’t sleep in today, firefly?” There is a playfulness in Percy’s voice, and you smile proudly,

“Nope, not today.”

“It’s a miracle,” Percy mutters, loud enough for you to hear, and you scoff. Atticus snickers and nods in agreement.

“We were supposed to gang up on him, not you two on me.” You stick your tongue out at Atticus, and he returns the action.

“It’s more fun making fun of you,” Atticus teases.

“Rude,” you mumble with a slight smile on your face. The two boys chuckle, Atticus turning more into his seat to tell Percy something about a new Marvel movie. Excited voices fill the van as the other boys join in the conversation, and soon they are debating if Batman is really a superhero or just a rich guy in a suit.

You had to admit, as the conversation became more passionate, you were pretty entertained, but as you catch sight of Camp Half-Blood growing farther in the distance, you’re reminded of the ache in your chest. It’s only a temporary leave, but when you return, things will never be the same, and the false hope of your siblings returning has been proven to be foolish.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

Following a ghost dog while weaving through the hustle and bustle of Grand Central is almost impossible. Atticus’s hand is latched to the straps of your bookbag as you move through people, trying not to roll your eyes at the way Ambrose turns to bark as if he was reprimanding you for being too slow. Easy for him to say when he can walk through walls and people.

“Track 28,” Atticus reminds you as your eyes find the number written on the tan bricks of the high walls. You make a sharp left towards the entrance of another hallway, ignoring the groans of a grouchy bystander that you may have cut off. The next hallway you enter is a lot less crowded than the main floor, and you slow down your pace.

“Where do you guys live again?” Percy asks as he jogs up beside you. He had insisted on walking you guys since his train departs in the same station.

“Sleepy Hollow.” Percy scrunches his face as if he recalls something, and you smile, waiting for the question everyone asks when you say you live there.

“Have you seen the headless horsemen?” Percy asks, half-joking. A snort leaves your throat, and you look at Atticus, who’s equally amused.

“Oh yeah, plenty of times.”

“Really?” Percy asks, his eyes wide with surprise, and you laugh.

“No.” Your response makes his face drop comedically fast, and Atticus bursts into laughter. “It’s just a story, but there’s a lot of history there, so the place is crawling with ghosts. We’ve met the guy who wrote the story, though,” you mention.

“No way,” Percy squints his eyes in disbelief.

“I’m serious! Atticus and I take walks in the cemetery sometimes. We leave drachmas on the graves of newly passed people, so their venture into the underworld is smooth, but some people like to wander.” You shrug. “Washington Irving is one of those people.”

“Cool,” Percy says with such enthusiasm that it makes you smile. Ambrose turns around and barks again, standing at the golden entrance that leads to the grey tunnel lit with fluorescent white lights where your train waits beside the concrete platform.

“He always rushes us,” Atticus complains, and Harvey lets out a coo that sounded close to a groan as if he agreed with him.

The marble floors turn to concrete as you enter the tunnel. The blue and silver train on your left hums as it sits dormant in its station. Ambrose trots ahead, peaking into the doors and windows to find an empty cart to occupy.

As you follow a few feet behind him, your fingers fiddle with the necklace resting in your pocket. You’re regretting not giving it to Percy earlier because, for some reason, the idea of giving it to him now was more intimidating than if you had done it earlier on the bus.

Ambrose decides on a cart, and Harvey jumps off Atticus’s shoulder, squealing happily as he follows the hound while completely ignoring a worried Atticus trailing close behind.

"I, uh, made this for you," you sputter, the words coming out fast like vomit. Your fingers pull out the crystal necklace abruptly, and you put it in the palm of his hand. "It's black tourmaline. It has protective qualities; good at keeping negative energy, negative auras, things like that. I put a spell on it to dim down your demigod scent for a while, so you catch a little bit of a break. It'll last for a few weeks, maybe a month or two if the spell caught on well."

You bite your lip as Percy studies the necklace resting in his hand. "Wow, really? Thank you, Y/n. This is great.”

Nervous, you shift on your feet under his bright, smiling orbs. "It's no problem. After everything that happened at camp, I think it’ll be good for you to have one.”

Percy nods, his features softening all of a sudden, and he shifts. “Thanks for protecting me,” he says, and you feel heat rush to your cheeks. “Getting rid of that thing became more than you expected. I felt bad that I couldn’t help. Swords aren’t really useful when it comes to demons, huh?”

A small laugh of agreement leaves your lips. “It was nothing. I wasn’t going to let you be tormented by that thing if I could help it.”

An announcement echoes in the hall, reporting the departure of your train in a few minutes. You glance over, catching Atticus, Ambrose, and Harvey with their noses practically pressed against the window as they witness your interaction with Percy. The amused smirk on Atticus’s face makes you roll your eyes; he’s definitely going to tease you when you get on the train.

"I should go.” You face Percy again, catching him securing the necklace around his neck. The stone rests a few inches under his camp half-blood necklace. "Thanks for walking us here. Be careful getting home."

"You too…” he trails off, noticing your brother looking out the window. For a second, he seems as embarrassed as you do and a nervous chuckle leaves his lips. “Your brother is waiting."

“He’s so annoying,” you complain, and Percy’s next chuckle doesn’t sound as hesitant this time. "Well, uh, bye, for now, puddles,” you tease, butterflies dancing in your stomach.

"Bye, for now, firefly."

You both awkwardly wave at each other before you turn around, getting on the train with Atticus. With your gaze fixed on the floor, you plop into the seat next to him. You don’t even need to look to know he is smiling teasingly at you.

"How cute,” he teases, nudging your shoulder repeatedly with his own.

"Ew, shut up.” You shove at his shoulder, your nose scrunching as he flails his arms against yours as if you were fighting. Atticus chuckles and a string of sounds come from your familiars as they join in to tease you, and you couldn’t help but laugh too.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

The suburban streets of your neighborhood are filled with the chirps of birds and bugs and the sounds of cars that pass every once in a while. There isn’t much conversation between you and Atticus as you trudge up the hill leading to your dead-end street.

“Gods, I hope we can get inside without being seen,” you manage to say through your heavy breaths, lazily holding on to the handle of your suitcase as it rolls behind you. Ambrose’s nose nudges the back of your knees as if to encourage you, but it’s more cute than helpful.

“There’s no way that we are. Janie and Celia are always sitting on the neighbor’s porch.” You grunt in acknowledgment, knowing that Atticus is right. The neighborhood ghosts are friendly enough, but their company can be annoying.

As if on cue, you hear a delighted squeal from ahead the moment you reach the top of the hill. Two ladies wave their handkerchiefs in the air a handful of houses away.

Celia, the tallest of the two, wears a steel blue dress with a high neckline and a big bow tied on the base of her neck. She has a jacket button closed over her corset with a frill at the end of her sleeves. Her skirt is floor-length and complete, with ruffles cascading down its entirety. And, of course, no one can miss the high-crowned hat decorated with fake flowers, bows, and crimped fabric as it all sits on top of her blonde hair in an intricate updo. Janie, her sister, wears the same style of dress and headpiece only in a burgundy red. The resemblance between the two makes it clear that they’re siblings close in age. They have the same high pinched noses that jut in the air; both of their faces are regal like those in renaissance paintings.

You’ve seen them around for as long as you can remember. They were two sisters who died of scarlet fever a year before their first courting season, which was a big deal according to their constant moaning and groaning about it.

You look ahead, your expression blank as if their high-pitched voices didn’t fill the streets and they weren't racing toward you with their skirts in their hands.

“My word! It’s the end of summer already?”

“Atticus, you’ve grown taller!”

“What a handsome boy! Y/n, your shorts are too short, don’t you think?”

“It’s quite bizarre how such clothing is acceptable these days.”

“How beautiful you’d look in a gown like ours!”

“Where’s Alabaster?” Janie asks, attempting to circle her arm around Atticus’s, but he raises his arm to push back his damp hair to avoid the contact. She scoffs at his rejection and sighs.

“Alabaster was sweeter to us than you guys!” Celia pouts. Your heart sinks a little at the mention of him. Of course, they’d ask about him, and of course, your father will ask too.

Gods! Your father will ask about him.

You had forgotten you’d have to break the news today. These past few weeks, you debated whether or not you should do it by letter, but it felt wrong. It was only right that he’d find out in person.

“We know you can hear us,” Janie huffs.

“I hope dad doesn’t work late tonight. Do you think Grandma will be waiting for us?” You ask. As annoying as it was having spirits follow you, it was a little fun ignoring them when convenient for you. Atticus nods,

“Probably-”

“No one’s home,” Celia cuts in, and Atticus pretends to shoo a bug away to conceal that he paused from her interruption.

“But I don’t think dad is going to take long. He said his last lecture ended at three,” Atticus continues, and you nod.

‘I hope grandma came by to visit. I missed her.”

“I just said no one’s home.” Celia snaps, and you press your lips together to hide your smile.

Atticus sighs. “I know, I’m dying for those moon cookies she makes us.” At the mention of those cookies, your stomach grumbles. You hope Celia was wrong because you’re suddenly craving your grandmother’s cooking and her company. Her funny stories and voice that’s always a little too loud for the indoors never fails to cheer you up. As short and frail as she is, her voice and personality could fill a room.

“Me too,” you say shortly.

“Hello?!” Celia waves her handkerchief in your face, and you persisted in ignoring her. Suddenly, a sound of disgust comes from Janie as she brushes off her skirt.

“Y/n, retrieve this monster of yours!” She squeals as Ambrose bites the fabric of her dress, tugging on it with a growl.

“Damn this dog,” Celia shouts, attempting to shoo him away, but yelps in surprise as Ambrose snaps his jaw shut near her hand. “Get this thing under control! Y/n!”

Your hand comes up to cover your smile even though the two are shuffling behind you and a stifled chuckle comes from Atticus. The sound of Janie’s heels on the concrete becomes louder as she rushes beside Atticus again, and your smiles drop. The sight of your house comes into view, and you tilt your head confused; your father’s car is parked in the driveway.

“You said no one was home?” You say out loud, and Celia gasps beside you,

“Now you speak to me?” She snaps, halting as you approach the fence. She stands tall, hands folded in front of her elegantly as Janie’s expression is gleaming like a child on Christmas. “Your father requested to keep it a secret, so I obliged his wishes. He canceled his last lecture today to make you both a meal. What a lovely man.”

Your hand finds the latch for the white picket fence as you smile at the familiar narrow victorian-style house ahead of you. A path of cobblestone leads you to the brick steps of the small porch.

Your home sticks out from the more modern American houses that surround the area. It’s an antique, a snippet of history, as your father likes to say. The house is a russet brown only because the bricks are so old they’ve darkened in color. The house accents such as the window trims, porch overhang, and columns are copper, and the hipped roof has brown tiles that look like fish scales. Beside the porch, the bay windows from both stories stack on top of each other, and above the porch roof is the dormer that’s a part of your bedroom.

Gods, you’re yearning to be in your room. You just want to pull out your Murphy bed from the wall and bury yourself in your sheets. The idea of being in bed puts a pep in your step, and you are careful to avoid the salt ring that surrounds your house.

A butterfly passes by your face, flying to the bunchberry bushes your father has planted in the front garden. Among the grass, there are various flowers and herbs that your father grows in the summer. You’ve inherited many things from your father, but his green thumb isn’t one of them. He takes his gardening seriously while you can barely keep the cacti in your room alive.

“Enjoy your meal! Come talk to us one of these days. We missed you two!” Janie shouts after you as you make your way up the stairs. You turn around, Atticus smiling at them.

“We missed you, girls, too,” he says as if he didn’t want to admit it. Janie squeals something about how handsome his smile is, and you scoff, amused as you grab the doorknob.

Once you push the door open, you're hit with a rush of deja vu. The history channel plays faintly in the next room as you take in the home you’ve missed dearly.

There are two bookshelves against the wall on your right, a wide ledge with pillows under the bay windows. A messy coffee table filled with letters and stacked with books sits in front of the comfy reading nook, letting you know that your father was recently hanging out there.

There is a brown mahogany staircase that ascends upstairs to your left, and right beside it is the altar for your mother. A statue of her rests in the middle of the rectangle table covered in a black table cloth. On top of it lies the many offerings for your mom. Herb-dressed candles burn beside bowls of fruit, bouquets, a crystal enamel wine glass filled with alcohol, feathers, and other things. You ignore the altar as you put down your stuff beside the door, following Atticus as he takes off his shoes.

“Kids?” You hear your father call enthusiastically from beyond the foyer, and you persist forward into the entryway ahead of you.

“We’re home!” Atticus announces as he enters beside you. Ambrose barks making a beeline to the right and behind the kitchen counter. He jumps on your father with so much force he stumbles back.

“Gods! Why does he look even bigger?” Your father exclaims through a laugh, fixing the round glasses that threaten to slip off his nose as his other hand grips Ambrose’s paw. He yelps in surprise as Harvey's claws rest on top of his head, clinging to his hair to steady himself.

The warmth and smell of home fill your senses as you catch your dad’s gaze. “Well, come here! Are you going to hug your pops or what?”

You rush over with Atticus. Both of you hug your dad tightly on either side of him, and you smile as he presses a kiss on your temples. “I missed you guys so much!”

“We missed you too!” The smile on your face falters as he looks up, scanning the archway as if he was waiting for someone else. You shift, not ready to be faced with the question, and you peer around his body to look at the food on the stove behind him.

Your father notices your interest, and he chuckles. “Come on, let’s eat. You guys came right on time.”

You shuffle through the kitchen with Atticus, making your way to the rounded table at the end of the kitchen.

“Dad, what have you been up to?” Atticus asks teasingly, and your father perks up.

“I've done a lot of things to keep me busy. I volunteered to teach summer classes while you were gone. I’m reading this book with a fascinating perspective of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in Rome. It’s an amazing read; I highly recommend it. Though, I don’t quite agree with it.” Your father hums thoughtfully. “Oh! And I bought gnomes for our garden! And the thrift store had this little house and this old lady figurine! I put it on the porch. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but she’s the official guard of the door," he declares proudly. "And…” He twists and turns before heading to the bookshelves in the living room area. He grabs something from the shelf then he showcases a cartoon Dobby bobblehead with wide arms. A high-pitched cackle leaves his lips. “It completes our collection!”

“Woah! Where did you get it? We went to three different places for it, and we couldn’t find it.” Atticus matches your father’s excitement, and you snort at the two.

“I went to a mythology convention in Boston a few weeks ago. There was a game stop across the street from the center, and I thought, ‘why not?’ I went in, and I saw this little guy by the register.” Your father is giddy as he nudges the head and watches it jiggle in his hands.

You think of what your grandmother’s reaction would be if she saw all the things he bought on his trip to the thrift store. She’d definitely complain. She always said that even growing up, your father had a liking for knickknacks. On your shelves and counters, there are always little trinkets lying around. It even extends to the walls, a variety of paintings and diagrams are neatly hung beside each other. From the state of your house, it’s clear your father is a maximalist in its purest definition.

“Wow! That’s awesome!” Atticus reaches out his hand for it as your father brings over his entire collection of Harry Potter bobbleheads, the toys huddled in his chest before he places them on the dining table. “The whole gang can hang out with us for dinner.”

“I hope they like pasta,” Atticus comments, lining them up as your dad retrieves the pan of food.

Your stomach grumbles at the sight, and you’re quick to serve yourself as Atticus and your Dad talk about anything and everything. You guys discuss what your grandmother has been up to, how your father’s classes were going, which led your father to ramble so much he formed a tangent on top of another. The conversation was going so well that you were sure he wouldn’t ask about your summer, but you had assumed too soon.

“So enough about me! How was Camp?” Your father chirps, and you shift in your seat.

You smile with confidence to hide the wariness you felt. “It was great!” You figured if you keep your answer short, you could move past it quickly.

“Yeah, the usual. Fun as always,” Atticus adds.

Your father’s eyes flicker between the two of you, and the first thing he notices is the way your smiles don’t reach the rest of your face.

The clanging of metal utensils on glass plates fills the room as the both of you fixate on your food but neither take a bite. The camp was never a touchy subject. The sudden unwillingness to speak about it makes his eyebrow cock up in suspicion. His eye averts to the empty dining chair beside you and the dinner place settings that remained untouched. Alabaster was supposed to join your return home. At least, that’s what he had assumed.

“Did Alabaster decide to stay at his foster home?” There’s caution in his tone, and he’s taken aback at how both you and Atticus tense up. The clings of metal halt abruptly, and slowly, you move to glance at your father.

“Dad, something happened at camp this summer.” Now, it was your turn to have a tone laced with caution. Alabaster lived with you for months and quickly became a part of the family. Your father saw him as his second son, and you were afraid to break the news that he may never see him again.

“What happened? Did he get into trouble?” You frown at the sudden edge in his voice. Atticus shifts beside you,

“He took the others to go fight for the Titan Lord.”

“What?”

“Mother came to speak to him and told him that it was best to fight for the other side since their chances are better,” you say slowly. “They left at the end of July. Only Atticus, Lou Ellen, and I stayed at camp.”

Your father’s expression darkens, grief written all over his face. “And you haven’t seen them since?”

You shake your head, not wanting to delve into the details. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again in a while and not in the best circumstances.” Your father nods, understanding the implication in your words. “Mother promised that she’d take care of them if they fight for the other side. I didn’t want to go; it wasn’t right.”

“That must be why everything is rotting,” your father mutters more to himself. You furrow your eyebrows.

“Rotting? What’s rotting?”

“Our offerings to your mother,” he clarifies. “All the fruit I leave on her altar goes bad in a few days. The flowers wither quickly too. The garden, in general, hasn’t been doing well either. I didn’t understand why.”

Your focus returns to your plate. Suddenly, you weren’t that hungry anymore.

She must be angry, you think to yourself. A part of you wanted a sign from her to let you know if she was bothered you didn’t join. When the sign didn’t come, you assumed she didn’t care; that, in a way, you were dead to her. It didn’t dawn on you to ask how the altar or the garden your father dedicated to her was doing.

“Can I be excused?” You strain, your face a little hot, and you’re not sure if it was from your anger or from the tears you’re blinking away.

“Of course.” The warm smile on your father’s face fails to budge the dread you’re feeling. “You can be excused as well, Atticus.”

You miss the way your father and Atticus exchange looks as you stood up. There wasn’t a verbal agreement, but Atticus stands up tall, determined to make you feel better. He trails behind you, and suddenly, he slings his arm across your shoulders. “You know what’s one of the things I missed at camp?”

“What?” You ask, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in your chest.

“Beating you at Tekken,” Atticus teases. Your lips curve slightly; his playful nature manages to brighten up your mood a little bit. “Let’s play. I’ll go easy on you, but I’m sure you’ll still lose regardless.”

“You’re on,” you nudge him, and Atticus chuckles, walking ahead of you and up the stairs. Your hand grips the railing, and you walk up a few steps before halting, and your eyes find the front door.

“You don’t get it!”

“I don’t.” You shrugged, amused at the way Atticus’s eyebrows knitted in disbelief. He ignored you, grabbed the remote, and played the Star Wars movie again. You groaned, seeing the slanted letters move up the TV screen. “Atticus! I can’t watch this!”

“Why not?!”

“Well, first off, my dyslexia won’t let me read that quickly, and if a physically written prologue is needed before a movie… it’s not a good movie!”

“How dare you!” You threw your head back as a laugh bubbled in your throat. The exasperated look on his face was too funny. You had no desire to watch these movies, and you figured if you bothered him enough, he’d give up trying to show them to you. The shrug of your shoulders made him scoff. “Just watch it!”

A huff left your lips, and unwillingly, you returned your gaze to the screen. Suddenly, a hollow knock came from the front door.

“It’s late,” you said, but Atticus was too caught up in the beginning battle of the movie to pay any mind to you. Rarely did you get visitors, definitely not past midnight on a Friday. Cautiously, you rose from the couch and moved toward the door.

Rain erratically hit against your curtain-covered windows; the wind and cold made the walls around you creak as they adjusted. Whatever waited for you at the door, you just wished it was a person, not a weird ghost or monster. Your finger latched on the side of the curtain, allowing you to peek through the glass of your front door.

A gasp left your lips. Alabaster, soaked from the ruthless rain outside, was the last person you expected to see. But even though you didn’t expect him, you had an inkling as to why he was here.

Hastily, you unlocked the door and flung it open. “Al?” You sputtered; his green orbs were surrounded by tired eyes and puffy skin.

“He died this morning,” he strained. Your expression softened, and before you could say anything, Alabaster stepped forward and hugged your shoulders tightly. The raggedness of his breath, the shutter of his body, sent your chest a weight of sorrow. You couldn’t imagine being in his shoes and losing your father to a long battle with cancer at 14. Tears threatened to spill from your eyes; the person you looked up to the most was breaking down. You never thought he would need your help for anything, but it seems that you were wrong. “I’m sorry. You guys live the closest to me, and I didn’t know where to go-”

“It’s okay,” you interrupted. “Oh, Al, I’m so sorry,” your voice cracked, hands rubbed his back as a sob left his lips. A creak of a floorboard caught your attention, and you turned to see a confused Atticus emerging from the living room. With a sad look, he understood what happened, and soon his expression was mimicking yours.

“I’ll wake dad and get clothes,” he said, then rushed upstairs.

Your father didn’t even hesitate to help Alabaster, opening the doors of your house to him. In his greatest time of need, the three of you stood beside him, and overnight, he had a place in your home and in your heart. The three of you spent so much time playing video games, getting into trouble around town, learning magic. All the good times you and Atticus shared with him, were they really worth throwing away to fight with Kronos? You realize now that his departure was never only a betrayal to the camp but to you, Atticus, and your father, and you couldn’t help but think perhaps, you guys didn’t mean as much to him as he meant to you.

A shaky sigh leaves your mouth at the thoughts persistent to ruin your mood. The desire to leave camp was to avoid all the things that reminded you of your siblings, but now that you returned home, you realize that running away isn’t as easy as you thought.

masterlist taglist: @xxyrr @nct127bee @mochabreezeee @minamisulemisa @yanfeisluvr @Slytherclaw-kitten @zhethugisa @-thatgirloverthere- @sanovr @passionswift @nanskidoodle @idk-bye-no @ilvermornyidiot @all-hailreyna @blackpopcorn @autmngirlworld @sunkissedskin1328 @Hermioneswifeee @quteez @hajigayy @aleksanderwh0r3 @drayshadow @tonyedwardstarkk @londoncherry @ashookykooky @lotusnegra666 @loverstyless @t0xicmuse @ohmydamgods @jordannfields @tomriddles-wh0re @chasingpj @pixietilly1924 @amy-writes-blog @muted-mayham @shawkneecaps @cbmelody @dreamerball @earthtokace @thehighladyofday @theverydramaticcabbage @lala-llama123 @tootsdoll @slytherindaughterofposeidon0 @black-rose-29 @somekidnamedkai @possiblylostchasecousin @silver-gemini @vodkavanity @hamdehlesmis @shadowsndaisies @cami05sworld @does-anyone-hear-me @scarlets-widow

if your username is bolded that means i can’t tag you ! you probably have your visibility settings on!

#percy jackson and the olympian fic #percy jackson imagine #percy jackson x you #percy jackson oneshot #percy jackson fanfiction #percy jackson fic #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson x reader #percy x reader #percy jackson #percy jackson x y/n #my writing #percy jackson and the olympians fanfiction

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 3 years

Text

Perfectly Fine

Prompt: Hi! I would love to read something from you featuring asexual Remus! - anon

it is project onto fictional characters hour my dudes

Read on Ao3

Warnings: discussions of the reality of being a sex-repulsed ace in a very allo world, nothing explicit

Pairings: none you heathens

Word Count: 1358

It takes them longer to figure it out than it should have and honestly, that’s on them.

But Remus is Remus, and that's perfectly fine.

It takes them longer to figure it out than it should have and honestly, that’s on them.

So it’s no secret that Remus’s particular sense of humor is equally as derived from what he finds funny and what makes the others the most uncomfortable. Logan did an analysis of it once and the results were 49%-51%. Which one is which varies but the quantities are incredibly consistent.

The trick is figuring out that the balance applies to Remus too.

And sure, the idea of Remus being uncomfortable is…difficult to remember sometimes, given that, you know, he’s Remus, but it’s there! It’s worth remembering! He’s a Side too! But considering his metric for ‘uncomfortable’ is wildly different from everyone else’s, it’s easy for them to overlook it. Maybe he gets some excitement out of grossing himself out too, maybe there’s a sick thrill in seeing just how close he can get himself to vomiting, honestly, who knows. Remus is Remus and that’s perfectly fine.

So here’s the big one that, again, took them way too long to figure out.

Remus is asexual. Not just asexual, sex-repulsed asexual.

Let’s reiterate: Remus is Remus and that’s perfectly fine.

It just…took them by surprise, is all.

“Wait,” Logan says, adjusting his glasses, “you’re asexual?”

“Those are the words I used,” Remus says, his head hanging off the couch.

“I—I heard you, I am…simply surprised,” Logan settles on, closing his notebook and setting it aside. “I would not have guessed that Thomas’s Sides would have different sexualities or romantic orientations.”

“What does it matter, Pocket Protector?”

“It doesn’t, it’s interesting to me.”

“Does that mean that all of us could potentially have different sexualities?” Patton’s head pokes above the counter as he digs for the good muffin tray—not the one Janus swiped three hours ago, of course not—in the cabinets. “Or no?”

Logan shrugs. “I imagine it would be possible, though I find it likely that at least some of us share Thomas’s.”

“My ears are burning,” Roman announces, plopping onto the couch next to his brother, “what incredibly gay thing are we talking about now?”

“Yeesh, Princey,” Virgil mutters, recovering from flinching horribly into the chair, “don’t do that, you scared the hell outta me.”

“Sorry, Virgil.” Roman taps Remus’s leg, hanging up over the back of the couch next to his head. “Why’re you upside-down?”

“Why’re you right-side up?”

“Remus…prompted a discussion on sexualities,” Logan says carefully, sparing a glance at Remus, “and we were debating the question of if we, as Thomas’s Sides, all have different sexualities.”

Remus kicks Roman in the head. “Told them I’m ace.”

“Oh, that makes more sense.”

“Really, and here I thought Remus beginning a complex introspective conversation was the height of character accuracy.”

“Payback,” Virgil sniggers as Roman startles horribly as Janus appears from behind the couch. “All jokes aside, I’m with L, I, uh, didn’t expect Remus to be ace.”

“Why not?”

Janus scoffs. “Couldn’t be the number of sex jokes you make on a daily basis, not at all.”

Remus shrugs.

“I think it’s just surprising considering how comfortable you are making the jokes, kiddo.”

“The fuck makes you think I’m comfortable with them?”

“Lang—what?” Patton’s head pops up again.

“A wild Patton appears!”

“Has Thomas…ever been interested in Pokémon?”

“What do you mean, comfortable?” Patton tilts his head, focused entirely on Remus and not the others making Pokémon jokes. “Are—are you not comfortable?”

“Remus isn’t exactly known for his ‘comfortable’ sense of humor, Padre,” Roman says, leaning back on the couch to make eye contact around Remus’s legs.

“But—but that—hold on.” Patton stands up—“ah! More Wild Patton!”—and puts his hands on the counter. “Remus, why would you make jokes that make you uncomfortable?”

Remus eyes him from upside-down. “Why does anyone do anything?”

“Sheer, absolute boredom, yeah, yeah, we get it,” Virgil sighs, “but it’s a good question, Remus.”

Remus just shrugs, only for it to dislodge him from his precarious position and slide toward the floor. Roman watches him collapse into a graceless heap and rolls his eyes, lying down on the couch.

“Hey! You stole my spot!”

“You’re the one who moved. Hey—!” Roman squawks in surprise as Remus throws himself on top of him. “You’re squishing me!”

“Too bad for you.”

“Remus,” Janus says softly, “are you…does sex make you uncomfortable?”

“Like maggots are crawling through my bones!”

The living room is quiet for a moment, enough to make Remus push himself up and stare around at them.

“What?”

“Sex isn’t something shameful, Remus,” Patton says patiently—and wow, isn’t that a surprise— “I promise.”

Remus rolls his eyes. “I know that, it just makes me want to rip all of my skin off and start over.”

“Why?”

“It’s bad enough I have to live in this meat sack,” he grouses, flopping back down and eliciting a soft ‘oof’ from Roman, “don’t need to be consciously reminded of it.”

“...‘meat sack?’”

“Oh, sorry, Lolo, ‘flexible container of mostly water.’”

“That’s not—well, yes, I suppose that is more accurate,” Logan says as he adjusts his tie, “but why would you choose to refer to your body as a meat sack?”

Remus shrugs. “’S not like I’d choose to be in this fucking thing. Evolution fucked up when it made us this way, at least we aren’t fucking horses. Oh, hey—“

“No,” Roman interrupts, “no jokes about that.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Remus?”

“What do you want, Snake-Face?”

“Are you…uncomfortable with your body?”

“Every day! It’s awful! I wish I didn’t have one!” At Janus’s muffled noise of heartbreak, Remus cranes his neck to look up at him. “Oh, relax, I’m fine, discomfort is part of my existence.”

“But it shouldn’t have to be.”

Remus huffs a sigh when he realizes that everyone else is looking at him with a similar amount of concern. Well, except Roman, but Roman gets it so that makes sense.

“I may or may not be being slightly dramatic, I am fine.”

“Can confirm,” Roman hums lazily, “comes with the Creativity gig.”

“Look, I just don’t like that it’s—it’s—“ Remus’s gaze lands on Patton— “look, Cookie Monster over there is allergic to cats, right?”

Logan frowns, glancing back and forth between them. “Yes, what does—“

“He’s not gonna die from it and he can still be around them, he’s just hyperaware of when there are cats and he can’t spend a lot of time around them without being really uncomfortable, right?”

Logan blinks in surprise. “Yes, I understand what you’re saying. Very clever analogy.”

“I am Creativity, you nitwit.”

He rolls his eyes fondly. “Of course.”

“So,” Virgil says cautiously, waving a hand at him, ��you’re…good?”

“Yep. Goody-goody gumdrops, that’s me.”

“As long as you never say that again, fine.”

Roman gives him a hug. “I’m proud of you, Re, coming out is hard. Especially when you have to give people a vocabulary lesson when you do it.”

“Thanks, Ro-Bro.” Remus’s grin widens. “Does that mean I get to pick the movie for tonight?”

“What? No! It’s my pick! Hey! Hey!” Roman squeals as Remus starts to poke his belly. “Don’t! Dohohon’t!”

“Let me pick!”

“No!”

“Boys,” Janus sighs, reaching out and using his six arms to separate the twins, “that’s enough. Roman, what movie are we watching?”

“Pacific Rim.”

“Hey, wait, that’s what I was gonna pick!”

“See? There you go.”

Logan perks up immediately. “Does this mean we finally get to watch a movie with no romantic subplot?”

“And batshit physics.”

“We can overlook the batshit physics.”

“Whoa, L, what happened to you?”

“I…may have a greater appreciation for the cinematic depictions of the machinery.”

Patton just rolls his eyes and gets back to searching for the muffin pan. No movie night is complete without fresh baked goods. Ah, there it is, although he could’ve sworn he looked there a few moments ago…

Anyway, they end the conversation in the same place it started.

Remus is Remus, and that’s perfectly fine.

General Taglist:@frxgprince @potereregina @reddstardust @gattonero17 @iamhereforthegayshit @thefingergunsgirl @awkwardandanxiousfander @creative-lampd-liberties @djpurple3 @winterswrandomness @sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes @iminyourfandom @bullet-tothefeels @full-of-roman-angst-trash @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind @demoniccheese83 @pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious @firefinch-ember @fandomssaremysoul @im-an-anxious-wreck @crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch @enby-ralsei @unicornssunflowersandstuff @wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams @averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @aularei @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws @cecil-but-gayer @i-am-overly-complicated @annytheseal @alias290 @tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance @whyiask @crows-ace @emilythezeldafan @frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires @cyanide-violence @oonagh2 @xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx @rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734 @triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo @cerulean-watermelon @puffed-up-bees @meltheromanstan

If you want to be added/taken off the taglist, let me know!

#dragonbabbles #fic #sanders sides #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #janus sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #roman sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #ace #asexual #asexuality #sex-repulsed asexual

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ebonetnoir · 4 years

Photo

Dreaming of Italy Postcard/Greeting Card Set, Exclusively Designed by Ebon Noir

Correspond in style! Send your best wishes, thoughts, and greetings with these iconic postcards featuring vintage Italian travel posters and pithy quotes. Printed on professional quality, silky smooth matte cardstock, these postcards feature a turn of the century design in the back, and are 15mil thick and 100% USPS compatible.

These post cards look great framed as well.

Sayings: ROME: "The city of illusion and yearning." –Giotto di Bondone FLORENCE: "The city of tranquility made manifest." –Katherine Cecil Thurston AMALFI: "It is difficult not to return again and again." –John Addington Symonds VENICE: "It's temples and palaces did seem like fabrics of enchantment piled to heaven." –Percy Bysshe Shelley MILAN: "Milan is beautiful in fog like a woman with a veil." –Ornella Vanoni NAPLES: "Is the flower of paradise." –Alexandre Dumas

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thejudgingtrash · 4 years

Note

Percy and Annabeth would 100% do their own version of the Halloween Heist every year. Annabeth obviously wins year one but as more people are pulled in the Title of Best Demigod/Satyr/Centaur gets passed around a lot.

You know what? Fuck it! Mini Fanfic time! Annabeth winning hmmm? I’m actually busy with not going crazy during quarantine and working on my feature length Percabeth fic (coming out in 2025, I guess). And it’s way too early (or late) for Halloween. But let’s do this! One shitty fic - hot and fresh out of the oven!

The Halloween Heist

The plan was ready and set. They all would do it one last time together before their paths separated and all of them drifted apart like gusts of wind. The heroes of Camp Half-Blood reunited one last time before college hit the last of them. They wanted to relive a normal holiday together, just this once.

Annabeth and Malcom set up different routes; A, B and C throughout New York City, Manhattan specifically. Those that could, joined. And would the little kids that were on the streets going to be respected? Definitely not. Of course, it would be a competition – who would turn out to be the one most successful? Whose group would be candy lords or ladies of the night? Who looked the most horrifying?

Everyone agreed that in the last part they all lost. None of them dressed in the true horrifying manner of the Halloween tradition. The Stolls’ were dressed as super heroes, Connor as Batman and Travis as The Flash. Katie joined them as Poison Ivy. Clarisse pulled off a solid Sarah Connor and her boyfriend Chris stood proudly next to her as The Terminator. The only person that looked slightly scary was Malcom. He was dressed as a zombie and his eye bags stemming from the latest project he had been working on through the entire night added to the nature of his character.

“Well!” Percy exclaimed and tapped the floor with a wooden trident. “Let the games begin!”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. He wore khaki shorts, flip flops and a Hawaii themed shirt and those stupid pink window blinds sunglasses from 2012. “That’s just purely lazy! You dress up like your father every time on Halloween.”

“And it works just fine every time,” he said after sharing a soft kiss. Not only that, his outfit was unironically super comfortable. His hair tickled her. The only good thing was that he had actually grown out a beard which hugged his handsome face very tightly.

Percy raised a black eyebrow. “What are you going for?”

Annabeth looked like she had raided Paul’s wardrobe. Light dress shirt, ugly green sweater vest, tight black jeans and goddamn Birkenstock shoes. Her blonde curls were gelled back and put into a tight bun. The dark frames of her glasses oozed sexy librarian but the expression on her face only said shhh!

“Sexy Chiron with a third eye and without the horse ass end?” Chris and Malcom grinned, Katie snorted whereas the Stolls’ and Clarisse shared a loud cackle. Annabeth looked like she wanted to murder him.

“No! I’m Cecil from Welcome to Night Vale,” she corrected him.

“Cecil?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. We listened to the first 100 episodes together! The lore, the intricacy, the little pieces you have to put together,” Annabeth looked very adorable whenever she was nerding and ranting about her passions.

“Well, The Weather is quite nice.” That was all Percy had to add.

“That means we have to re-listen everything!” Annabeth decided. Percy simply nodded. Yes, they would re-listen.

“We?” Katie raised a red dyed eyebrow. “Don’t tell me that you’ve become a we couple.”

“Of course not!” both denied. “And don’t be so sarcastic, Percy! We will re-listen!”

Clatter. The group turned to their right. Grover appeared wearing a flower crown on top of his horns, a torn green dress shirt… and nothing further down below. “That’s just unfair!” The Stolls’ yelled and pointed at his dark hairy goat legs.

“No, this is a way of nature saying, Grover you got this. Also be nice! Me taking off time as a Lord of the Wild should be considered a blessing,” the black satyr grinned.

The brothers huffed and Malcom rolled his eyes. “Where’s Juniper?” Annabeth asked.

“Couldn’t make it unfortunately,” the Grover pouted.

“And Will and Nico? Will promised us 90s Justin Timberlake with a puka shell necklace, meanest frosted tips and Donald Trump tan!”

The satyr shrugged. “They have decided that re-watching Corpse Bride for the millionth time was more important. Anyway. Annabeth, you got the straws?”

“Of course, I do. We have three groups á three people. Red is A, blue is B and green is C. Biggest candy stash wins, got it? Ultimate bragging rights, the last prank idea on Chiron and blue cupcakes from Sally. Let the Fates decide!”

“You sure about that?”

“Percy, shut up! Let’s just do this.”

The participants nodded. Team A consisted of Percy, Clarisse and Travis. Team B were Annabeth, Chris and Malcom. Lastly Team C was made up by Grover, Katie and Connor.

“Two Athena kids in one group is just unfair,” Clarisse huffed.

“Deal with it,” Malcom grinned. “You know the routes? Let’s begin! You’ve got three hours!”

*****

Percy rang the bell. A middle-aged woman with curlers opened the door. “Yes?” she mustered him.

Percy cleared his throat. “Lord Poseidon demands all of your candy!” he said with a deep booming voice.

The woman stared at him weirdly. “Poseidon as in the god of sea? Since when does a Greek god look like homeless person wandering around the beach?”

“Uh…Since always?”

“Alright, fair enough.”

*****

A young man opened the door. Annabeth was greeted by the smell of grease, Cheetos and bleach. The meanest hotbox fumes smacked her across the face. She coughed and felt her eyes tearing up. She wanted to experience the rush of winning, not feel that kind of high just yet.

“That your Halloween costume?” She simply nodded.

“Fucking sick, dude! You look like my college professor!”

“Well in that case hand your assignments in or give me all of your candy,” she grinned.

*****

A young mother and her daughter opened up for Grover.

“Wow! I want that costume mommy!” wailed the girl.

“Ellie, you’re already a witch. But how did you create those legs? They look so real?”

“They came off pretty naturally,” Grover shrugged.

“And the horns?!”

“I can’t spill all of my secrets, I’m afraid. I am but a humble servant of nature asking you to give something sweet back to us.”

The woman giggled. “Oh, and he’s a poet as well!”

“Uhh no?” denied Grover.

“Here take some of our candy!”

“Okay! Nature won’t forget your service, ma’am! And neither yours, Ellie!”

*****

The nine gathered at the Jackson’s hours later. Each team piled their candy stock. It was a clear-cut victory. Annabeth and Malcom looked proudly at their stash.

“We did it!” Katie yelled behind them. Team Grover won, they nearly covered the entire floor with chocolates and packs of sour patches. Satyr bonus probably. The Athena siblings lost their victorious smiles immediately.

“Looks like Team Athina kids lost!” Grover exclaimed with a smirk.

Annabeth looked like she’d all of a sudden love to possess Chiron’s horse ass to give him a massive horse kick. “Wait! Do we count the total mass or the individual candy because in that sense we would have won?” she questioned.

“Everyone saying that Annabeth would never cheat can now clearly tell that that was a fucking lie!” Percy shook his head.

“Well, work smart not hard,” Annabeth stuck her tongue out.

“There can always be a next time if we coordinate! And we will crush you!”

The End

#they're all ooc because they're essentially me. also this shit's wack. why am I posting this. well too late I guess #pjo #pjo fanfic #halloween au #percy jackson and the olympians #annabeth chase #grover underwood #katie gardner #malcom pace #percy jackson fanfiction #clarisse la rue #chris rodriguez #travis stoll #connor stoll #mel writes

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retconomics · 4 years

Note

What is this nonsense about you putting your FANTASTIC art down!!!!! I see I must fund the everyone loves Cecile campaign again!! LIKE HAVE YOU SEEN THE LAST RAY IMAGE AND PERCY WITH LONG HAIR MA'AM I'VE BEEN SIMPING FOR YEARS heirgojfi your way of colouring is so silky and smooth... impeccable knowledge of anatomy, dynamic poses, diverse characters with distinct features... AND THE CHARACTER DESIGNS??? EVERY OC UNIQUE AND GORGEOUS AND SPOUSE SHAPED??? Your art is my religion all YEAR!!!

#oof thank you thank you ❤️#damn i sure... opened a can of worms #🏃#but thank you your messages are all very sweet!!

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everykindofnerd13 · 4 years

Text

“Okay so next, there’s,” Bianca was cut off by the newcomer.

“Wait!” He exclaimed grabbing her arm before they could leave the Hades cabin.

“What?” She asked.

“There are two floors right?” Bianca nodded.

“Uh, so can you show me the upstairs?” He asked her.

“No.” She answered simply and turned around.

“Ah! Why not?” He asked and she glared at him.

“You showed me the upstairs and all the other ones!” He complained. She sighed and shook her head.

“Artemis give me strength...” she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Nico’s room is upstairs.” She explained, hoping the curious kid would drop it.

“So this kid gets a room all to himself!?” He asked, as if it affected him.

“Yes he does, he lives alone in the cabin practically year round, the only other children of Hades being myself and Hazel. I am a Lady of the Hunt and therefore spend most of my time with them. Hazel is a daughter of Pluto technically and stays either in New Rome or at Camp Jupiter most the time. Plus Nico designed the cabin himself, and if there aren’t going to be people there year-round with him, why should he have to share a space with no one?” The kid’s eyes widened and he nodded quickly. Bianca nodded back and they started off toward the arena.

“Well, she handled that better than expected...” Percy muttered from his place in Nico’s lap where they were looking through the tinted windows down to where Bianca was talking to the kid. In reality, Percy and Nico weren’t yet out to the camp. Well, Nico was out as gay, and it was rather obvious that Percy was at least queer to everyone so there wasn’t anything really bad that could happen, but no one knew the two were dating but Nico’s sisters, their significant others, and the duo’s closest friends. That list consisted of Bianca, Hazel, Tyson, Thalia, Frank, Leo, Ella, Lou Ellen, Will, Cecil, Ethan, Alabaster, Jason, Reyna, Annabeth, Piper, Grover, Rachel, and lastly, and surprisingly Clarisse. But over the more recent years, Percy had grown incredibly close to the daughter of Ares, and both were very protective of eachother nowadays. Though their frankly aggressive and borderline toxic bickering never faltered.

“Yeah, she knows the feeling of having a terrible secret though...” Nico explained and Percy glared playfully.

“A terrible secret? Gods, Di Angelo, if I’d known you hated me I wouldn’t have entered a relationship with you.” He joked and Nico pouted and pushed Percy back onto his bed so that he could lay on top of the older demigod.

“Shut up Gattino, we both know I cherish our relationship immensely.” Percy smiled and began carding his fingers through Nico’s hair to soothe him. He knew it was true. Nico had been crushing on Percy for almost 5 years by the time they figured stuff out and got together. Nico treated Percy practically as if he were a god himself, which to be fair, he was. But so was Nico.

“Of course little vampire. I’m completely aware, it’s a wonder you haven’t instructed Annabeth to construct a temple for my worship.” He joked and Nico hummed on his chest.

“Maybe that would be a good idea, si?” Nico asked and Percy made a confused noise in the back of his throat.

“A temple, on my family’s property in Italia. Just for you. And just for me.” Nico said, causing Percy to laugh.

“Neeks, I love you, but you are a broke child and Annabeth does absolutely nothing for free.” Percy pointed out and Nico raised an eyebrow.

“Principe Marino, you are dating a fellow god, of not only Heroic deaths, but also,” Nico kissed Percy’s jaw, “Fortuna di Famiglia.” Nico pointed out and Percy had to laugh at himself. Right, of course, being a son of Hades, Nico was now the god of Heroic deaths and family fortune. Meaning, because of god magic, the money left to him by his grandmama would never run out.

“Well, Neeks, if you’re so rich and prosperous, maybe we should also construct a temple for my worshipment of you.” Percy suggested as he pulled Nico up to kiss his nose.

“Mmm, no, you’re the only one worthy of worship. You’re all tall and muscular and... hot!” Nico explained then sat up, straddling his boyfriend’s waist and lookin down at him.

“Oh?” Percy asked and Nico nodded pointedly.

“First off, you’re skin. It’s gorgeous, golden, sun kissed, beautiful. It’s clear and you’re pretty. Then your hair, which I love, is all fluffy and black and soft and messy, and you always look like you’ve just rolled out of bed.” Nico explained and Percy was blushing now. Nico ignored him and continued, “And you’re eyes, god! Percy your eyes!” Nico let out a downright dirty groan, “Perseus Jackson, you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. They’re literally the color of sea foam, and they just remind me of the beach near my home in Venice.” Nico explained. Percy’s eyes softened and his heart swelled at the happy but mournful smile that spread across Nico’s features.

“Plus, not to mention, you’re built like a Greek god.” Nico joked and reached under Percy’s shirt to grope his boyfriend’s abs. Percy flushed and shoved Nico away to fall back on the bed.

“Well, Ghost King, you’re not much different, you’ve filled out since I first met you,” Nico laughed.

“I hit puberty Blu Bello,” he pointed out, which caused Percy to laugh.

“Well, you’re a hottie now Nico. You completely skipped the awkward phase and went from cute little kid to hot teenager in 6 months. You’ve got beautiful cheekbones that are quite honestly my weakness and you’re skin is so soft, and pretty and pale, and your hair is long enough for me to play with the ends when we kiss and you’re lips are super soft because they’ve never been used by anyone but me which is a great feeling. And you’re short. Which makes me feel good about myself considering we’re surrounded by Giants at this stupid camp.” Nico laughed and shoved Percy again.

“ Rude!” He shouted then pulled Percy down to his level and kissed him, the kiss slowly becoming more heated as time passed. After a while the boys were heavily making out, only to be rudely interrupted by Will Solace.

“Ew!” He shouted and shielded his eyes while Nico reluctantly and resentfully pulled away from his boyfriend to glare over at his bestfriend.

“Can I help you Solace? I’m kinda busy,” he complained. Will huffed and glared back at him while Percy flushed dark red.

“I’m here to swipe your water-bound boyfriend because there are some younger Hephaestus kids who want to go swimming but Beckendorf, Leo, and Jake are all busy and we know that none of the others are gonna leave the forges.” Nico groaned annoyed and fell forward onto Percy’s chest, wrapping his arms and legs around his boyfriend possessively. Percy laughed at his boyfriends antics and sat up, only for Nico to whine helplessly then flip Solace off.

“F**k you Solace, watch the fire brats yourself this is my boyfriend time.” Nico whined, still koala attaching himself to Percy who was sitting up with Nico in his lap, not even attempting to push the gremlin off.

“Whatever Di Angelo, I don’t like getting wet and you know it,” Will countered, earning himself a glare from Nico.

“Fine, if you manage, watch what I do next time I know you and Jake are enjoying your rare time alone together. I’ll march right up and start talking about how incredible Percy is, and you will only be able to focus on Percy while trying to make out with your boyfriend? How’s that gonna feel asshole?” Will sighed in defeat and sent Nico his patented mom look, expecting it to work like normal, but Nico stood his ground defiantly, which Will supposed was fair. Percy really enjoyed watching the kids so he had classes basically all day, this was his two hours without classes, aka when he spent time with Nico. Will shook his head defeated and left Nico’s cabin.

“Neeks,” Percy started to argue only for Nico to turn his glare on him.

“No, absolutely not, this is the only time of day that I get to have you all to myself because all of your friends are also busy and I’m not and you aren’t, I don’t wanna go down to beach and sit a respectable amount of room apart so that you can make sure no over eager kids who can’t wait until one of your life guard hours drown.” Percy sighed in defeat and pulled Nico back down on top of him to continue to kiss him heatedly, instantly brightening the ghost king’s mood. Nico hummed into the kiss and held onto his boyfriend like he was Nico’s lifeline.

After a few minutes, the boys were forced to break, again, when there was a knock at the door. Nico groaned in annoyance but Percy nudged him away to go answer the door. Nico huffed as he pulled away and looked in the mirror to fix his hair and clothes back. The knock came again but louder and Nico groaned again, but quietly and went to answer the door. Outside there was standing a decidedly uninvited demigod that Nico didn’t recognize.

“Can I help you?” He asked annoyed and the kid looked slightly intimidated. Typically Nico was reasonably nice to the kids at camp, but when they came knocking at his cabin door while he was obviously trying to be alone it was rather annoying.

“Uh, I was looking for Percy...” the kid muttered and Nico looked at him suspiciously.

“What do you want from him?” He asked quite rudely.

“Um, we wanted to go swimming and we kinda need him in order to do so.” Nico only glared at the probably 12 year old kid and huffed.

“Percy’s on his break right now, we’re in the middle of a board game, wait for another hour and we’ll be done and he’ll be back on his life guard duty.” Nico stated and the kid only swallowed and nodded. Nico returned to a grinning Percy who was waiting for Nico to return. The smaller demigod crawled into his boyfriends lap and began kissing his neck.

“Y’know, you should really be nicer to the younger campers,” Percy reasoned and Nico grunted in annoyance.

“They should really respect that you have to take breaks.” He countered and held onto Percy’s waist possessively as he kissed down to Percy’s collar bone.

“Hate to break it to you Ghost King, but I’m kinda a big deal around here.” Nico huffed in annoyance and leaned back to glare at his boyfriend.

“I am three seconds away from shadow traveling us to my room in the underworld,” Nico declared, causing Percy to snort and lean in to steal a chaste kiss. Which Nico quickly returned, and once again, the making out began.

And, once again, it was interrupted. It had gone on a little longer and to be fair it was more lazy, sleepy kisses, not full on handsy making out, but still, Nico was comfortable and enjoying Percy time.

“Nico Di Angelo I swear I’m gonna set you on fire if you treat my campers like that ever again!” Leo marched up Nico’s stairs loudly and angrily. He was met by a sight he probably could have lived without. Nico Di Angelo curled up on Percy’s chest, peppering kisses over his face.

“Leo Valdez if you enter my cabin and interrupt my Percy time like that ever again I will raise the cesarean army on you, what do you want?” Nico was becoming genuinely angry and at this point, raising the cesarean army didn’t sound like too bad an idea.

“I heard you grilled one of my campers,” Leo said, crossing his arms.

“You’re all fire-proof, it doesn’t matter if I grill any of you, but you’re right, he came here, only minutes after Will requesting to steal my Percy during my Percy time, and during Percy’s well deserved break so give your campers something to do other than swim for another 30 minutes while I enjoy cuddling with my boyfriend,” Nico was glaring daggers into Leo’s eyes who huffed in annoyance but left the cabin hastily.

“You’re so cute when you’re angry,” Percy purred as he pet Nico’s hair.

“You’re so cute when you’re not overworked,” Nico countered turning back to Percy.

“Mm, that’s fair,” he agreed and placed a soft kiss on Nico’s lips.

“I know it is Gattino,” Nico stated fondly and leaned into Percy’s chest to get comfortable. He continue pressing kisses all over Percy’s neck, only for a knock to sound at the door, which Percy nearly laughed at. Nico growled and tightened his hold on Percy, then proceeded to shadow travel them to his room in the underworld. Percy laughed as they hit the silky sheets.

“Nico, we can’t just stay here,” Percy reasoned and Nico shook his head.

“We can, and we will until further notice, you’re resting, I’m kissing, and we’re both trying to enjoy ourselves but people keep interrupting, so this is me, preventing that.” He then summoned Ms. O’ Leary and stationed her at his door to chase any of his family members who may try to invade his room away.

“I love you...” Percy muttered softly and kissed Nico, which Nico smiled at.

“I love you too.” With that he collapsed onto Percy’s chest and continued pressing kisses to Percy’s neck, while letting himself and Percy slowly fall into a slumber.

This time they were awoken by Melinoe, one of Nico’s half sisters.

“Nicolai!” She shouted, causing him to jump out of his sleep.

“It is 11 pm you stupid boys, you two have missed dinner and the bonfire and the Harpies are out.” Nico sighed in defeat and looked down at his sleepy boyfriend, he realised he didn’t really feel guilty, Percy needed sleep, and if taking him to the underworld had brought it, so be it.

“Fine fine, we’ll go, sorry Meli!” Nico exclaimed and grabbed Percy. He quickly shadow travelled them to Nico’s cabin and they both burst out laughing before Percy gasped.

“Did she say 11!?” He asked terrified.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry Perce...” Nico mumbled, feeling awful for accidentally pulling Percy from all his responsibilities.

“Well, Neeks, it’s not your fault we fell asleep or that we kept getting interrupted, I don’t blame you, I just wish we would have remembered.” Percy muttered as he pulled Nico up to cuddle him.

“Mm, still sorry, I’ll leave you alone tomorrow,” Nico explained and curled up to Percy.

“You most certainly will not, we’re eating lunch together and you’ll be waiting in your cabin as always tomorrow when I have my break, and we’re gonna cuddle and kiss and enjoy our time, and I’m not gonna drop you to go watch kids swim at the lake. Then I’m gonna go back to my job and then we’re gonna sit down and eat dinner together then watch Disney movies together and then you’ll shadow travel me back to my cabin we’ll go to sleep and repeat the cycle,” Percy was very demanding with his list of the routine the two boys had been retaining for the past few months.

“Okay, sounds good to me,” Nico agreed, snuggling into his boyfriend’s chest.

“Everyone’s gonna be stressed out tomorrow since we weren’t here before lights out,” Percy pointed out and Nico hummed in agreement.

“You wanna go tell Chiron or Annabeth?” Nico asked and Percy hummed.

“We should probably tell Annie, Chiron’s probably with the herd.” He suggested and wrapped his arms around Nico’s shoulders so they could shadow travel. After a few seconds the demigods were in the Athena cabin next to Annabeth’s bunk.

“Annie?” Percy asked as he knelt down next to her. She stirred slightly, and her brows furrowed before her eyes slowly fluttered open. She immediately sat up and wrapped her arms around Percy’s neck in a desperate hug.

“You’re not allowed to just disappear!” She whisper-shouted as she shoved him away and pointed at Nico.

“And you aren’t either! Will was so stressed!” She was still whisper-shouting and Nico’s ears heated up in embarrassment.

“I- we didn’t mean to, I got angry because we kept on getting interrupted so the fourth time someone came knocking on my cabin door, I just got fed up and brought us to the Underworld, then we fell asleep and Melinoe woke us up at 11 and I’m sorry!” Nico was apologizing a lot. He cared about Annabeth and Grover’s opinions the most, those were Percy’s oldest and best friends, and he didn’t want them to hate him.

“It’s fine Nico, really, I understand wanting alone time, you just had all of us a bit spooked, and when Hazel found out from Leo that you were missing too she got really stressed out so Leo’s at Camp Jupiter with her and Frank and you should go let her know.

“Yeah, okay, Perce you coming with me? I feel like we’ll need to calm Leo’s nerves too.”Percy nodded hastily and took Nico’s hand, quickly leaving a peck on Annabeth’s forehead before Nico shadow travelled them to Camp Jupiter.

They landed in the living room of Jason And Reyna, and Hazel and Frank’s shared home. Percy placed a chaste kiss on Nico’s lips then started pulling him back towards Hazel and Frank’s room.

They let themselves in to find Hazel and Frank snuggling with Leo nestled between them. Nico approached the bed and lightly awoke Hazel.

“Haze?” He asked softly as she began to stir. She slowly rolled over, her eyes half lidded, before they brightened at the sight of Nico.

“Nico!” She jumped up to embrace him, also stirring Leo and Frank. Leo immediately also jumped up to hug Percy tightly. Frank just rose slowly to look at his lovers adoringly. Nico enjoyed pretending to be protective of Hazel, but her boyfriends were both so good there was really no reason to try and be protective. He trusted them.

“Don’t go disappearing like that!” Hazel exclaimed and swatted Nico’s chest.

“I’m sorry! We fell asleep at the palace!” Hazel narrowed her eyes.

“What were you doing in the underworld in the first place?” She asked annoyed. Nico huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Well, if we hadn’t been rudely interrupted by Will, then some random Hephaestus kid, then Leo, then someone else, I wouldn’t have been annoyed enough to even leave camp, but if I’m trying to enjoy my time with Percy, I want to do it without interruption so whatever!” Percy laughed because Nico was already very defensive of the subject.

“So that’s why Beckendorf couldn’t get to you guys!” Leo exclaimed and Nico rolled his eyes.

“Yes Leo, THATS why Beckendorf couldn’t get to me, because I was trying to enjoy my cherished time with Percy the same way you guys try to enjoy your time with eachother,” Leo looked down guiltily. Hazel was able to summon a Hell Hound whenever she wanted, so she could come see Leo whenever she wanted, on top of that, they were all out to the camp as Poly and in a relationship. But Percy and Nico were only out to their closest friends so it wasn’t like Nico could just go up to Percy and kiss him between their shifts or duties, they had to plan time to be together.

“Sorry...” Leo muttered and Nico huffed.

“Don’t apologize, guilt doesn’t look good on you, and I don’t really particularly mind because that was the least stressful I’ve woken up before, so hush,” Nico was being very persistent about no one feeling bad and then he was reminded that Will was one of his bestfriends, a total mother hen, and was probably worried sick. Nico groaned and fell back onto the couch in the trio’s room.

“Neeks?” Percy asked as he watched his boyfriend collapse.

“Will’s probably at Camp Halfblood having a fucking panic attack because I disappeared!” He sighed, then looked lovingly at Percy, then glanced at the others and slowly stood.

“What’s up Nico?” Hazel asked as he came and sat down again.

“You guys are all so good! Gods! Why can’t you just hate me for being annoying! For avoiding you! For grilling you! Why can’t you just resent me! If everyone hated me, peopling would be some much less stressful!” Percy laughed and scooped Nico up off the bed and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Neeks, that’s what friends are all about, being worried when you aren’t where you’re supposed to be, because we love you,” Percy nuzzled Nico’s hair and the shorter demigod only huffed.

“You two are disgustingly cute,” Leo pointed out from where he was laying against Frank with the larger man’s arms around his waist. Nico rolled his eyes and glared at the son of Hephaestus.

“Oh yeah, any chance I get,” Percy confirmed easily, which made Hazel laugh then look at her brother.

“You can go,” she said, then grabbed Nico’s hand, “check in with Will, make sure the poor boy isn’t having a panic attack, then I cannot let you do anything further, you must go to sleep, no matter how good you’ve gotten at shadow traveling, doing so at great distances is not good for your health, and you will immediately shadow travel back to your own cabin, with Percy, and sleep.” Hazel was very serious about Nico’s health, maybe not as much as Will, but still serious.

“Okay, I’ve got it, love you Haze,” He hugged his sister, let Percy hug Leo, then waved them all goodbye and they were off. After a bit, they landed in Will’s cabin and once they were both stable, Nico gave up and just leaned into Percy, Hazel was right, shadow traveling between realms and across countries was really draining. Percy rubbed his back comfortingly and turned to Will’s bed, only to find it empty. He sighed and looked at Nico, who staring seriously at the bed. He sighed as well, and hugged Percy around the middle to travel the couple of meters to the Hephaestus Cabin, where no doubt Will would be.

Which of course, they were right, Will was sleeping with Jake in the Hephaestus kid’s bed, curled up to his boyfriend happily. Nico laughed at his friend but still leaned into Percy, feeling absolutely drained to the max.

“Will?” Nico whispered softly, slowly stirring Will from his sleep.

“Nico!” Will whisper shouted as he pulled the son of Hades away from his boyfriend and into a hug.

“Why do you look so tired? Have you two been fighting monsters?” Will sat up fully and pushed Nico down next to him.

“No Will!” Nico shoved Will’s worrying hands away and leaned toward Percy.

“Nico’s been shadow traveling a lot...” Percy explained and Will’s eyes narrowed.

“Really Coco?” He asked and Nico glared angrily at the stupid nickname.

“Will, really, I’m fine, I’m just tired,” he sighed loudly and made grabby hands at Percy. As much as being small sucked, having a tall boyfriend meant that he could be easily lifted up.

“Nico got a bit annoyed after four interruptions and shadow travelled us to his room in the underworld,” Percy was rubbing Nico’s back lovingly, “then we came back and I panicked and he brought us to Annie, only for her to recommend we went to see Hazel, and we did and Nico realised you’d be worried sick so we came back then you weren’t in your cabin and now we’re here.” Percy kissed the top of Nico’s head and the son of Hades sighed dreamily, leaning into his boyfriends touch like it was a life line. Will let his gaze soften at his bestfriends happiness. Nico deserves what he wanted, and Percy had been what he wanted for years.

“Well, I, as the head doctor, prescribe a good nights rest, and a full day of Percy cuddles. I’ll make up an excuse for you two, and I’ll let the others know, just stay in tomorrow, cuddle up, watch some movies, love you Neeks,” Will kisses Nico’s forehead and pushed him all the way into Percy who laughed.

“How about we get Mrs. O’Leary?” He asked and Nico nodded wildly quickly summoning the Hell Hound then giving Will a kiss on the cheek good bye and rushing out of there as fast as he could. Mrs. O’Leary brought them to Nico’s cabin Percy easily carried Nico to the half-Hades’ bed. They collapsed into it and Percy curled around Nico while Mrs. O’Leary climbed up and curled around the both of them.

——————————————————————————

Nico awoke feeling completely recharged at around noon the next day, Percy was gone, but Mrs. O’Leary was still curled around Nico, and he sighed in bliss.

“Percy?” He called, and was answered by his cabin door opening. He sat up against Mrs. O’Leary subconciously leaning into her and also covering her.

“Coco?” He heard Will call and Nico let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. In walked Will with a tray of what looked like blue cookies and a glass of pomegranate juice. Of course, his favorite juice and something personally made by Percy.

“Hey Will-I-Am,” Nico greeted, then yawned, “where’s my Sea Prince?” He asked after a few seconds and Will laughed while he set down the tray on Nico’s bedside table.

“He’s at his mom’s house, says he’s got a surprise for you there, but he should be back soon, don’t worry,” Will explained as he handed Nico the plate of cookies and the glass. Then he picked up the rag and dunked it in what looked like cold water then set it to the side. Nico looked at him wearily as he ate his cookies. Will tended to be a little overbearing luv caring at times, like acting as if exhaustion was a fever.

“Will!” Nico whined as Will pulled a thermometer out of his pocket.

“Nicolai!” Will swatted at Nico’s hands and stuffed the thermometer in his mouth.

“You will sit here and accept my mother henning because you hopped twice between realms and twice across the country and you will now accept my making sure you’re okay because exhaustion can result in fevers and sickness.” Nico sighed and laid back, letting Will dab his forehead with the wet cloth then when the thermometer beeped he pulled it out of Nico’s mouth and set it to the side.

“You’re temperature is normal,” he stated then under his breath, “for a child of Hades,” then back to normal volume, “and you may continue as I planned with a day of cuddles and relaxation. I said that you two got into a mess with Melinoe and Makaria, so you had to go to the underworld and now you’re both allowed to rest for the day,” Nico smiled at his friend as Will leaned in to press a kiss to Nico’s forehead.

“Thanks Will,” Nico said regrettably.

“Aw, any time Neeks, I love you, you’re my best friend, it’s what you deserve,” then Will stood and left while Nico fell back into his Hell Hound and turned to bury his face in her fur. He let her warmth consume him and brighten his mood even further as he slowly finished his cookies and pomegranate juice.

“Nico?” Percy called and Mrs. O’Leary lifted her head in excitement, jostling Nico.

“I’m here Percy!” Nico called back and as Percy emerged from the stairs Nico saw a broad smile on his lips.

“Okay, sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, I have you something,” Percy held up a bag that Nico recognized from that time Annabeth and Katie had forced them to take one of the Arts and Crafts classes and they made bags with eachother. They actually enjoyed seeing and had made a few more bags together since, but this one was the first they’d made together. It was a view of the ocean against an extremely starry sky.

Nico was pulled from his thought by the smell of distinctive Italian food. His mother’s. Tears sprang to his eyes as he looked lovingly at Percy.

“Nico!?” Percy called concerned as he rushed to the bed faster, dropping the bag on the night stand and landed on the bed pulling Nico into a tight hug.

“You are the most amazing incredible awful human being I’ve ever met,” He muttered while laugh-crying into Percy’s chest. That caused Percy to let out a relieved huff of a laugh.

“Why?” He asked.

“Because you perfect boyfriend went all the way to your mom’s apartment so you could make my mom’s lasagna recipe with her.” Percy’s eyes widened and he nodded quickly.

“Of course Neeks, you were so tired last night I thought you deserved a treat, and you talk about your mom and grandma’s cooking so often I thought...” Nico knocked the air out of Percy as he tackled him into the bed and hugged him tightly while pressing a kiss to his lips. He felt Percy smile into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist

“You, Perseus Jackson, are the best thing that has ever walked into my life.” He muttered against Percy’s lips causing a bright blush to rush to Percy’s cheeks.

“You, Nico Di Angelo, deserve the best,” he answered. And Nico smiled as he sat up, straddling Percy’s waist. He grabbed the bag of food and pulled it into his lap as Percy sat up as well, keeping Nico on his lap. Nico pulled out four tupperwares and a bottle of sparkling white grape juice. He smiled at the bottle then looked at Percy with an amusing smirk.

“We better be careful, if Mr. D find outs we have a bottle of “non-alcoholic wine” he’ll throw a hissy fit.” He joked and Percy smiled, pulling out two wine glasses.

“Well, it’s a good thing people have decided to leave us alone then.” He agreed and settled to pour them both a glass of juice.

#nico di angelo #percy jackson #percico #PJO #nicercy

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rosalyn51 · 5 years

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A Discovery of Witches drops first season 2 photo, with Matthew Goode in a doublet

By Maureen Lee Lenker Sept 5, 2019

My edits. Origianal photo: Sky One [Rosalyn51 note: This is the highest resolution pic of the day so far 2700x1800 pixels x]

The past is about to get witchy.

A Discovery of Witches released the first official photo from its upcoming second season Thursday, featuring witch Diana (Teresa Palmer) and vampire Matthew De Clermont (Matthew Goode) in full Elizabethan garb.

Keen fans of Deborah Harkness’ source novels will recognize the setting as Blackfriars, where Matthew and Diana make their home when they travel back to Elizabethan London to escape the Congregation and unlock the secrets of Ashmole 782, also known as the Book of Life. The photograph showcases Diana in traditional Elizabethan dress, including a full skirt with a farthingale underneath and a high starched collar, a more casual version of a ruff. Matthew walks beside her holding her hand, wearing a leather doublet and matching breeches.

“We’ve finally arrived at Elizabethan London… Who’s excited for season 2?” the show’s Twitter account asked alongside the release of the image.

The first look also comes with some long-awaited casting news, including the actors who will bring to life the fan favorite Gallowglass, Matthew’s Norse-Gaelic vampire nephew, and Phillipe De Clermont, Matthew’s stepfather. Steven Cree, who portrays Jamie Fraser’s beloved brother-in-law Ian Murray on Outlander, will portray Gallowglass, a hunky vampire and soldier of fortune who holds a soft spot for his uncle. British actor James Purefoy, best known for his work on Rome, will play Phillipe, founder of the Congregation, commander of the Knights of Lazarus, and mate of Ysabeau.

“To have such high caliber talent joining an already exceptional ensemble is a testament to Deborah Harkness’ brilliant novels, Pete McTighe and Susie Conklin’s scripts, and to the immensely talented cast and crew working to bring all to life,” executive producer Jane Tranter said in a statement. “The bar was set high with season 1, but season 2 is already shaping up to take fans into a new realm as we follow Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan England. With cast like this they will not be disappointed.”

Much of the rest of the season 2 cast was announced as well, including Paul Rhys (Victoria) as the frightening vampire Andrew Hubbard, Sheila Hancock (Doctor Who) as the witch Goody Alsop, Barbara Marten (Casualty) as Queen Elizabeth, Jacob Ifan (Cuffs) as Benjamin Fuchs, Holly Aird (Waking the Dead) as Francoise, Michael Lindall (Deep State) as Sir Walter Raleigh, Adam Sklar (Faceless) as Henry Percy, Joshua Pickering as Jack Blackfriars, Elaine Cassidy (Harper’s Island) as Louise De Clermont, Victoria Yeates (Call the Midwife) as Elizabeth Jackson, Adrian Rawlins (Chernobyl) as William Cecil, Lois Chimimba (Doctor Who) as Catherine Streeter, Amy McAllister (Philomena) as Marjorie Cooper, and Milo Twomey (Mother, Father, Son) as Pierre.

Season 2 will also see the return of much of the season 1 cast. As Matthew and Diana face new dangers and mysteries hidden in time, the story in the present day will also continue as Diana’s aunts, Sarah (Alex Kingston) and Em (Valarie Pettiford), take shelter with Matthew’s mother, Ysabeau De Clermont (Lindsay Duncan), at her home in France, Sept-Tours. In Oxford, Matthew’s trusted allies Marcus (Edward Bluemel) and Miriam (Aiysha Hart) will strive to protect daemons Nathaniel (Daniel Ezra) and Sophie (Aisling Loftus). The Congregation, including Gerbert (Trevor Eve), Peter Knox (Owen Teale), Satu (Malin Buska), and Domenico (Gregg Chillin), will also enlist their considerable powers to hunt down Diana and Matthew and the secrets they’re keeping.

Season 2 will be based on Harkness’s second novel in her All Souls Trilogy, Shadow of Night. No premiere date, either in the U.K. or Stateside, has been announced.

*Meanwhile Radio Times reported “The second series of A Discovery of Witches is currently filming ahead of a confirmed early 2020 airdate" 🙌🙌

#matthew goode #matthew roydon #matthew clairmont #a discovery of witches #teresa palmer #james purefoy #steven cree

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solangelover · 5 years

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Leave Me or Hold Me Close

Solangelo Week 2k19: Day 7 – “Enemies / Lovers” @solangeloweek

A/N: AU where Will has been a year-rounder since age 8 and Nico since age 11, they’re both now 15 and have an intense rivalry-type thing.

Read on AO3 or FF.net or Wattpad

“Ugh, just leave me alone! Why do you feel the need to rant at me, Solace?”

Nico stormed out of the infirmary, leaving a steaming Will Solace standing in the doorway.

“Well, maybe if you stopped being an idiot and getting sent to the infirmary, I wouldn’t have to see you so often!” He nearly stomped his feet in frustration as he glared at the retreating back of Nico di Angelo. But Will wasn’t a child, so he threw his hands up and made incoherent noises of rage.

“That stupid, idiot son of Hades! I just—gah!!” Will shadow-boxed the air as he whipped around and stalked back to his desk. His sister, Kayla, simply watched this all go down with a raised eyebrow. Their three-going-on-four-year long hatred of each other was nothing new, but she felt like it was reaching its peak. Something was going to break soon, but with all the fights, she couldn’t tell exactly what.

As soon as Will sat in his chair, Kayla jumped up on his desk and looked over her shoulder at him. “So, how’s life, big guy?”

Will gave her a withering glare, to which she immediately jumped off the desk and put her hands up in surrender. Still, she stood there, arms crossed and waiting for a reply. Will took a deep breath and let out an even deeper sigh. “di Angelo. I just can’t with him! I don’t know what he wants! I try to help him since, hello, I’m head medic and he can’t seem to go one week without ending up here. He’s so dumb I swear. I can’t really avoid him if he keeps needing medical help, so if he doesn’t want to see me then that’s his problem!” He groaned and ran his hands through his hair, effectively disheveling it so he looked a little crazy. Nico was slowly but surely driving him insane.

“Soooo…” Kayla drew out. “What I’m hearing is, you want Nico to be safer because you care about his well-being?”

Will closed his eyes and held his head in his hands. “It’s not like I want him dead, Kayla. Of course I want him to be safer.”

“But you don’t want to see him? Like, at all?”

Will thought about that. He pictured Nico’s annoying face, his harsh glare that was constantly thrown Will’s way, his scowl that always twisted his features. Sometimes, when Nico wasn’t paying attention to Will, he would see Nico look excited, hear him laugh at some dumb joke Percy made, and just be a totally different person than who Will knew. They’d been at camp together for the past few years, and Will couldn’t even remember exactly how their “rivalry” started, but he knew that he was tired of it. It was probably fun in the beginning, but at some point, their insults became real and their fights venomous. Will never knew how strongly he could dislike a person without knowing why.

“Will?” Kayla’s voice brought Will out of his thoughts and back to reality.

He sighed once more and picked his head up to look at his sister. “I’m just tired, sis. I only want some peace in this crazy camp.”

“AGHHHH!” Nico threw another pillow against the wall of his cabin. Annabeth suggested it after she walked in one time to the shattering of a lamp, the ceramic pieces joining various other broken things on the ground.

Nico’s latest trip to the infirmary ended in a yelling match between him and the one and only Doctor Solace. Nico knew he was being stubborn, but the guy was insisting that Nico either come in for check-ups more or just not get injured so often. Honestly, did he think Nico liked getting attacked by monsters? Or losing in a sparring match?

Did Will really hate his face that much?

But then Will also asked for him to come in more often, which he wouldn’t do if he didn’t want to see Nico, right?

No, idiota, Nico chided himself. He’s just doing his job. He doesn’t want to see you.

A knock sounded at Nico’s door, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Percy stood in the open doorway (that Nico forgot to close in his rage) with a concerned yet amused look on his face. “Rough day?”

Nico glared as Percy invited himself in, plopping down on the bed across from Nico’s. Meanwhile, Nico took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, opting to sit right there on the floor in the middle of the cabin. He clutched the pillow he was about to throw to his chest, his fists threatening to rip the material.

Percy popped his head over the foot of the bed to better see Nico. He cocked his head expectantly.

Nico sighed. “It’s just Solace, nothing new.”

“Are you… angry at him?”

“No duh, Jackson.” Nico rolled his eyes at the son of Poseidon. What did he think was going on?

“Just checking,” Percy chuckled. “So, what did you do this time?”

“Nothing!” Nico flew the pillow up in the air and it landed a few feet away from him. He glared at it as if he could scare it into coming back to him. “I did nothing at all, just got hurt in training and went to the infirmary. Then he lectured me on safety and limits like I’m a child. So I got mad and we fought and I left.” He was scowling so hard, Percy was sure his face would get stuck like that.

Percy hummed. “Sounds like he just wants you to be safe?”

“No schist, that’s his job,” Nico deadpanned.

“True,” Percy agreed. “But I don’t see him lecturing many other campers.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Why does he hate me so much that he won’t leave me alone?”

“Well, is that what you want? For him to leave you alone?”

“Would be nice,” Nico grumbled.

“I’m serious, Nico.” Percy waited until Nico met his eyes. “Do you want to never see or speak to Will Solace?”

Nico frowned at that and looked down. Did he? He couldn’t really imagine his life without Will in it. Not that he was the center of his life or anything, but Will had been there since he first got to camp. Will had been one of the first kids to talk to him and try to be his friend. But Nico had been having a tough time and it didn’t manifest well with his temper. He didn’t remember exactly what happened, Nico just knew that one day, they were fighting, and simply never stopped.

What would it be like if he just let that all go?

Percy didn’t interrupt Nico’s thinking, knowing that his friend was a big time internal processor, and this was kind of an important question.

Finally, Nico sighed and looked back at Percy. “I don’t know.”

That night saw them at the campfire. It was going on as usual, with the loud singing of the Apollo kids and non-stop chattering from the Hermes kids. Everyone sat with their friends, laughing up a storm or making crazy gestures as they told stories.

Will sat with his cabin, as well as Lou Ellen and Cecil. Nico was surrounded by Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, along with other random friends. Both boys kept casting glances at the other, new thoughts running through their minds concerning their relationship.

“Geez, what’s up, Will? Feeling thirstier for some di Angelo than usual?”

“What?” Will squeaked as he whipped around to see Lou Ellen with a smirk on her lips.

“Dude, you keep looking over at him. Just talk to him already.” Cecil dropped down in front of Lou Ellen with a freshly toasted marshmallow.

“Yeah seriously, there’s so much sexual tension between you two, you could cut it with a knife.” To prove her point, Lou Ellen held up a shiny dagger in her hand.

“Lou! Put that away, that’s dangerous!” Will scolded. She grinned widely, and a second later her dagger disappeared in a puff of smoke and mist. Annoying Hecate kids.

“But seriously,” she leaned in. “What’s going on?”

Will sighed, turning fully to his friend so his back was to Nico. “I’m just… thinking. I don’t know what, but I want to talk to Nico. Civilly. I want to be, I don’t know, his actual friend, not his enemy or rival.”

Lou Ellen and Cecil shared a look, then met Will’s eyes with a smile. “That’s a great idea, Will. The gods know your guys’ game of hard-to-get has been going on long enough,” Cecil stated.

Will sputtered, “Will you two stop?? I said I want to be his friend, stop implying!” Will was blushing at this point, and he hoped he could blame it on the firelight. By the looks on his best friends’ faces, it was probably obvious.

“Whatever,” Will shook his hair out as he turned back toward the fire. Maybe he could talk to Nico after the campfire.

“Nico, if you keep glancing over there, I will literally lose it.”

Nico turned to see Annabeth mid-eye roll. “What are you talking about?”

“Bro, she’s talking about you constantly looking over at Solace, like this whole night.” Percy slung a comforting arm around his girlfriend, as if Nico was actually causing her stress. “If you wanna talk to him, just get up and go.”

Nico scowled at the couple. “I don’t want to talk to him. I think he’s seen me enough for one day.”

“Oh my gods, Nico. Will doesn’t actually hate you,” Annabeth stated.

“Really? So we just fight constantly for fun?” Nico said sarcastically.

“Ugh! Just shut up already!” Drew called down from a couple rows up the bleachers. The daughter of Aphrodite was always listening in for gossip. “I swear, di Angelo, stop throwing yourself a pity party and go. It’s about time you and Mr. Sunshine end your flirtationship and make some progress. We’ve been sitting on this for years!” She immediately went back to filing her nails.

Nico gaped at her. “What the Hades??” He turned to look at his friends, who all avoided eye contact. “What is she talking about?” When they still didn’t look at him, Nico narrowed his eyes, turning to the one he thought might crack. “Grover, tell me you don’t all think that.”

“Uhhhhhh,” Grover nervously chewed on some soda can, glancing to the side before answering with a high-pitched, “yes?”

“What the…” Nico stood up and fully faced his friends. “I don’t—it’s not—that’s not what’s happening here!” He could feel his cheeks heating up, but he chalked that up to anger.

Unsure of where to go from there, Nico just walked off, glancing back over his shoulder towards Will, who happened to look up at the same time. Their eyes met, noticing something different in Will’s eyes. Before the moment stretched on for too long, Nico turned away and left the campfire.

“Nico, wait!”

Nico turned to see Will jogging up to meet him. He stopped before climbing the steps to his cabin as Will reached him, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Why’d you leave early?”

“I was being tortured by my friends. What do you want?” He winced when it came out a lot harsher than Nico intended. Way to start a friendship, di Angelo. “Sorry, I just…”

“No worries, I get it.” Will didn’t think he’d ever heard Nico apologize to him before. Maybe this just might work out. “Um…” He didn’t know exactly how to articulate everything he’d been thinking over. Luckily for him, Nico was impulsive and nervous.

“Did you know everyone thinks we like each other?” Will didn’t miss Nico cringing at his own outburst. It made him smile a little. “I mean, like, like like each other,” he said quietly as he nervously twisted his skull ring.

Will couldn’t really say he knew, but he wasn’t exactly surprised after Lou Ellen’s comments. “I—it’s—nevermind that. We’ll deal with that later.” Will shook his head and took a deep breath. “Can we just, start over? Be friends? I don’t mind us fighting still, but I’d like to, I don’t know, not be so… mean? Gods, I don’t know what I’m trying to say.” Will covered his eyes with his hand, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment. What exactly was he trying to accomplish here?

Nico’s lips parted in a small ‘o’ of understanding. Seemed like he and Will were on the same page for once. “Yes,” he blurted. “I mean, yeah, I agree. I still strongly dislike you right now,” Will rolled his eyes and Nico chuckled, which was pretty friendly for them. “But less hatred would be nice.”

Will brightened, and it definitely did not make Nico’s night, that’s ridiculous. “Truce?” He held out a hand.

“Truce.” Nico gripped Will’s hand firmly, giving it a small shake.

As they looked into each other’s eyes, they both had the same thought.

Let’s see where this takes us.

A/N: I was gonna try go all the way to lovers but my slow-build brain wouldn’t let me, sorry.

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gatesofember · 4 years

Text

Frailty and Fortune: Chapter 4

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 10

Rating: T | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: A few months have passed since Prince Nico’s wedding to William of Solace. Even with his husband at his side, Will sometimes feels lonely as he settles into his new life. He misses his home, his family, his friends, and his studies in Venadica. Meanwhile, Nico is uncertain how to help him, awkward about expressing himself, and he wonders if he’ll ever be able to truly make his husband happy. As time goes by and Will continues to feel lost in his new home, Will and Nico must both learn how to make their marriage work.

Nico woke up late the next day. Very late. Reyna was not pleased with him.

Despite her lecture, Nico was in no hurry to get up until she reminded him of two things: firstly, that Midas had noticed his absence all morning, and secondly, that Nico’s husband had been entertaining their host alone.

Nico shot out of bed at that. He quickly dressed and readied himself, decided that he could wait until lunch to eat, and then hurried with Reyna to find Will and Midas.

Reyna brought him to a windowed drawing room where the early sunlight made Will’s hair more golden than anything in Midas’ estate. He was standing with Midas at a large round table littered with maps.

Midas politely greeted him, which Nico ignored, and Will smiled kindly. At first, Nico was overwhelmed with relief to find him safe, but once the feeling passed, it was quickly replaced by anger. How dare Will meet with Midas alone? Had Nico not been very clear about what he thought of that?

You were sleeping, reminded a rational voice in Nico’s head. Nico ignored it. Yes, he should have woken up earlier, but that wasn’t a reason for Will to meet with Midas alone. He should have at least taken Reyna with him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Will said, oblivious to Nico’s fury. “We’ve been looking over maps of the mines and making projections of what an extension of the slope would entail. Engineering isn’t my specialty, but I thought I’d have a look.”

Will looked well-rested, happy, and eager. Hadn’t he seemed disinterested in helping just the night before? Now he suddenly wanted to be involved? After leaving Nico and Reyna to deal with him before, he suddenly decided to speak with Midas on his own? Had he forgotten that Nico was the duke? That Nico was supposed to lead their discussions?

Will didn’t mean anything by it, Nico tried to tell himself. It didn’t make him feel better.

“The outdoor pony stables should be here, at the slope’s entrance,” Will said, pointing at the top of a cross-section map. “I suggest building them as soon as possible, at least so that the ponies on the first three levels can start using them while work on the slope progresses.”

Nico’s lips pursed. Will was only trying to help, he reminded himself. Really, he was doing exactly what Nico had asked of him. Nico shouldn’t be angry.

When a manservant entered the room and took Midas’ attention, Will leaned closer to whisper in Nico’s ear. “I’m glad you’ve finally woken up.”

Nico made a noncommittal sound in response. He was not in the mood for teasing.

Will frowned. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Nico grunted.

Will didn’t seem satisfied by that answer. For a moment, it seemed like he might drop the matter anyway, but then he reached for Nico’s hand. “Nico?”

Nico snatched his hand away. “You may not call me that here,” he hissed. “I have already told you the circumstances in which you are allowed to use that name.”

Nico immediately regretted it. He’d lashed out at Will like that once before, when he’d berated Will for touching him during Prince Percy’s wedding. Will’s expression this time at least wasn’t as confused and scared as it had been back then, but he still looked hurt. And not just hurt, either—it was like a cold steel wall had suddenly sprung up around him. He looked angry.

“I didn’t mean to snap,” Nico said quickly, determined not to get himself into trouble like he had the last time.

Will nodded slowly, but his features didn’t soften. Before Nico could apologize, Midas returned.

“Lityerses has everything prepared for you to leave,” he said. “Your man is already waiting.”

“Man?” Nico repeated. He was Will’s man.

“Hedge,” Will explained.

Nico nodded. That was alright, then.

Then Nico caught himself and forced his thoughts to grind to a halt. Of course it was alright. He had to keep his penchant for resentment in check. There was no reason to be getting jealous.

“Then I will leave you to your talks,” Will said, standing up straight and fixing his coat. “Will you send the documents I requested to my room, Lord Midas?”

“I already have someone locating them,” Midas answered.

And the jealousy was back. What documents? Why hadn’t Will mentioned these documents to Nico?

Nico mentally trampled the thoughts away.

“Thank you,” Will said, then he turned to Nico. “Until this evening, Your Highness.”

“Yes,” Nico said, because that was the only thing he could think to say other than “Don’t leave yet!” He tried to discreetly touch Will’s hand as he passed, but didn’t manage to reach him in time.

Nico watched him go with an uncomfortable wrench in his gut. He’d thoroughly spoiled what could have been a perfectly good morning.

* * *

Will had worked as a healer long enough for examinations to become second nature to him. He made his way through the mine’s ponies without needing to think much about it. It was a good thing, because Will’s mind was preoccupied with his husband.

He knew why Nico was angry; Nico had asked him to be careful around Midas and was upset when he found out that Will had met with him alone. Still, Will couldn’t explain that they’d been discussing his daughter’s health. He did feel guilty for worrying Nico and keeping Zoe a secret, but he wasn’t sure that he had a choice. Zoe deserved confidentiality. Will didn’t have the right to tell Nico about her health.

Anyway, Will thought Nico’s anger was unreasonably inflated. He could understand the frustration, but honestly—snapping at Will for the mistake with his given name? It was all quite ridiculous and even a little bit offensive. Why was Nico so against his husband using his given name in public? Why was he so ashamed of Will?

Much to Will’s surprise and relief, Lityerses made a good conversation partner. He helped keep Will from dwelling too much on Nico while he worked on the ponies.

“The Prince must have told him to keep a close watch on me,” Lityerses said, referring to Hedge.

Will glanced at Hedge, who was glowering at Will and Lityerses from the entrance of the stables. There were in the first level of the mines and Will was sitting on a stool, working by lamplight to examine a pony’s hooves. Hedge had made no attempt to hide his distrust of Midas’ son.

“Yes, well, my husband is worried about my safety and Hedge is suspicious by nature,” Will said. “I’m sure no one meant any offence.”

Lityerses raised an eyebrow. “Your Highness, I do recall the way the Prince objected to my accompanying you at dinner last night,” he said. “Besides, I am well aware of what he thinks of my family.”

Will paused while examining one hoof, and all he managed to say was, “Oh.” After a second, he gathered his thoughts and added, “Well, really, it’s just your father.”

But Lityerses shook his head. “Oh, no, the Prince doesn’t like me, either,” he said. “He rejected me quite quickly when I was considered as a candidate for Royal Consort.”

Will sat up so quickly that he knocked his head on the wooden slats behind him with a loud crack.

“Your Highness?” Hedge called.

“I’m fine, Hedge,” Will answered quickly, lest he come back inside and start breathing down Will’s neck again. He’d been so distracting that Will had been forced to ask Hedge to keep an eye on the mine from the entrance of the stables within ten minutes of arriving.

Lityerses eyed him curiously. “Didn’t your husband tell you I was considered?”

“He...uh...neglected to mention that,” Will said, rubbing the throbbing spot on the back of his head. He supposed it wasn’t surprising that Nico hadn’t said anything, given how much he’d teased Nico about his failures with Cecil and Ellis. Nico had probably been embarrassed. Given how much Nico despised Midas, any attempt by Lityerses to court him must have been disastrous.

“It fell through immediately,” Lityerses said again. “Hardly worth mentioning. Suits me well, anyway; being the Prince’s consort would have been nice, but I’m needed here to take the county after my father. Zoe...well, we always assumed that Zoe wouldn’t live long enough to do it.”

Will wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. Lityerses must have misinterpreted his uneasiness, because he said, “You don’t need to worry about my relationship with your husband. It was bound for failure. He never would have accepted my father’s son.”

“Right,” Will said, racking his brain for another topic of conversation. Nico wouldn’t have wanted him to talk to Lityerses about this. There had been a reason Nico hadn’t mentioned courting Lityerses and Will didn’t feel right learning about it from someone other than his husband.

He got to his feet and opened the pony’s mouth to examine its teeth. “I’ve noticed that these ponies all seem quite young,” he said. “At least, that’s what I’d assume based on their teeth.”

“They are,” Lityerses confirmed. “That’s actually what I wanted you to look for in the records. It’s always been this way.”

“They’re too young,” Will said, stepping back to look over the pony. “He’s even quite small. He can’t be more than three years old.”

“Some are younger.”

“Younger?” Will repeated. “What age do they send them here?”

“Two or three, according to the records I’ve looked at,” Lityerses answered. “Then they work here for the rest of their lives.”

“And I’d wager that isn’t very long,” Will grumbled angrily as he left the pony’s stall to move to the next one.

“It’s not. Three more years, if they’re lucky.”

Will halted in his tracks. “Three?”

“Three,” Lityerses confirmed. “Pit ponies usually only live to about five.”

“But they’re not even fully grown before five!”

“I know.”

“They’re practically children!”

“I know.”

“Do you realize how long ponies are supposed to live? Twenty years. Twenty! This is only a quarter of how long their lives should be! I expected their lifespans to be short, but I thought they’d at least make it to ten.”

“I know,” Lityerses said again. “I’ve been looking into this for at least the past two years. It’s all in the records that I told you to ask for.”

Will ran a hand through his hair, forgetting how dirty his fingers were. “And your father,” he said. “What does he think of all this?”

“He doesn’t particularly care,” Lityerses answered.

“But you do,” Will said. It was halfway between a statement and a question. “You do, and you can’t let your father know. Why? Why haven’t you confronted him?”

Lityerses sighed. “You have to understand—he’s my father. Every son worships his father when they’re young.”

Will couldn’t say he agreed with the sentiment. He liked his father well enough, but he’d always been very much aware of Apollo’s flaws.

Will nodded for Lityerses to go on anyway and chose not to voice his thoughts on the matter just yet.

“I only recently started to realize that something was wrong here,” Lityerses continued. “Or, at least, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally came to terms with it. I’ve known for a long time. You’ve heard about my father’s trial, I presume?”

“I’ve heard.”

Lityerses crossed his arms and averted his eyes. “I knew about the baiting before the trial,” he said. “My father took me to watch matches when I was younger. At the time, I thought it was just a normal sport. It wasn’t until the trial that I found out it was illegal. Even after that, it took time for me to accept that it was wrong, because if it was wrong, then my father was a bad person. I didn’t want to believe that.” Lityerses looked up at Will, and whatever expression he was wearing made Lityerses close his arms further over his chest. “I’m not proud of it, Your Highness.”

“I imagine not,” Will said. He didn’t mean it judgmentally, but he certainly wasn’t feeling compassionate, either. “Continue.”

“I assumed that he changed after the trial. In fact, I was desperate to believe it. But sometimes he said things—things that seemed...flippant. Like he didn’t care. Eventually, I started to suspect that he could still be causing harm to animals, or even to people.”

“Lityerses,” Will interrupted. “Is he still baiting?”

“No, I haven’t found evidence of that,” Lityerses answered. “That was one of the first things I tried to find out. He doesn’t travel enough for me to think he attends matches elsewhere and I’d have found out by now if he were holding them in Phrygia. We’d have more guests, for one thing. I even looked at financial records, and everything seems to be accounted for—no large, unexplained sums of money that he could have earned or lost off bets. It’s possible I missed something, but...if there are still active baiting circles in Pluto, somehow I doubt my father would be invited to join. The last time he was found out, he gave names.”

Will nodded. It was unlikely that anyone would trust Midas after he betrayed the last baiting circle.

“No baiting, then,” Will said. “But you did find out about the ponies. What else?”

“Well, ponies don’t leave the mines. Accidents aren’t exactly rare. The work hours are long—for ponies and humans. And the pay is barely enough for the workers to feed their families. Actually, quite a bit of it gets back to my father through taxes, so it’s like he’s hardly paying the workers at all.”

“But Phrygia hardly seems poor,” Will said. “It’s so clean.”

“He’s willing to spend his tax income on improvements in the city, but I suspect it’s out of vanity rather than concern for Phrygians,” Lityerses explained. “He pays sanitation workers, then taxes them so much that they may as well have done their jobs for free. The streets are clean, but the people who live in them are starving.”

“Ni—the Prince told me that your father is well-liked in Pluto.”

“Oh, he is—by the aristocracy and merchant class vying for his favor,” Lityerses said. “He’s the wealthiest man in Pluto; people know what kind of advantages his friendship can offer. That’s how he acquired some very powerful connections.”

“And he earned everything off the labor of animals and the poor.”

“Labor, if not their lives,” Lityerses said. “I did try to ask my father about the ponies once. I mentioned that I noticed the lifespans were rather short. He just told me that it was normal for pit ponies and that all mines are that way. And he’s right—I even checked. All this?” Lityerses gestured to the ponies in the stable around them. “This is happening in mines all over Pluto, Your Highness. My father isn’t an outlier. He may be worse than most—that’s why he has the highest profits—but he’s hardly the only guilty party.”

“Gods above,” Will murmured. “And no one cares?”

“I care,” Lityerses said. “And you care. I suspect that the Prince would care, too. Your Highness, I only just started finding out about all this and I’m hardly a capable researcher, so I know that there are things I’ve missed. It took me years to deduce everything I’ve told you. I know I can’t convince my father to change anything and I’ve been too afraid to confront him further because if he stopped trusting me, then there wouldn’t be a way for me to keep investigating. There is very little I can do. Even if I could, I wouldn’t know how to start fixing any of this. You, though—you’re a consor. You’re the Prince’s husband. Your aunt is the Matestra. You can do something.”

Will’s mouth felt dry. Lityerses was right.

If anything were to change, it had to start with Will.

* * *

That realization should have terrified Will. He was still growing accustomed to the fact that he was a member of the Royal Family and hadn’t quite mentally grasped exactly how much power he now held. He wasn’t the illegitimate son of a duke anymore. He was the husband of the future King of Pluto.

But this was exactly why Artemis had arranged for his marriage consultation with Nico in the first place. Will remembered what his aunt had told him when he expressed his doubt that he’d make a suitable match for a prince— “ You are a consor,” she’d said, “which, I daresay, is exactly what the Royal Family needs.”

There were other consors and sorors acting as advisors in the palace—Reyna, for one—but there was a very clear difference between serving the Royal Family and being a part of it. And unlike some of the advisors Will had met, he was also a healer, and that had fostered a nurturing quality in him which their personalities lacked. They made fine partners to discuss theory with, but were too stolid and analytical for Will to enjoy a more casual conversation—with the exception of Reyna, who Will had discovered made quite a good friend. The rest of the palace advisors were often too concerned with rigid numbers and charts and intellectual discussions to step back and think of people as people or of Pluto as a home for millions of individuals.

But Will—Will not only could, but wanted to make a change. And it wasn’t just Midas. It wasn’t just Plutonian mines. There was Plutonian healthcare, too, and the appalling rate of poverty throughout the country.

Will could change all of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Zoe’s wet cough jostling the thermometer in her mouth. He checked the reading and offered her the cup water at her bedside.

“I really hate having my temperature taken,” she said.

“Well, at least we know your fever has gone down,” Will said as he recorded the information in his papers. “Actually, there are smaller, faster types of thermometers now. You ought to ask your father to buy one.”

Lityerses sighed from the other side of Zoe’s bed, where he was sitting to watch over his sister while Will tended to her. “Faster thermometers?” he said. “Then I’ll never get her to be quiet. The only time she stops talking is when she’s having her temperature taken.”

Zoe snickered. “Or when I’m being sick all over my bedsheets.”

“Hopefully, that won’t happen as much anymore,” Will said. “It’s your sacred duty to annoy your brother.”

Zoe looked like she was about to say something, but then she started coughing again.

“Keep drinking,” Will said. “I know you don’t want to, but you can’t be healthy without it.”

Zoe was too busy coughing to answer. When it finally calmed, she took another sip of water. Will encouraged her to drink more before he took the cup back.

“I hate this,” Zoe whispered, her voice thick with phlegm.

“I know, but this is a good sign,” Will said. “The cough always gets worse at the end.”

“Then the medicine is working?” Zoe asked.

“Yes, I believe it is,” Will answered. “You’ll be able to get out of bed soon—definitely by the time I leave at the end of the week.”

“I wonder if you could treat my skin condition, as well,” Zoe said, looking up at Will with large, hopeful eyes.

Will thought carefully before replying. He’d expected Zoe to ask about that at some point. Patients with skin conditions always wanted to know how to hide it. “Right now, I think it’s most important to take care of your illness,” he said.

“Is the rash difficult to treat?”

“No,” Will said. “It’s actually quite simple. Unfortunately, the treatment counteracts the medication I’m already giving you.”

“Counteracts?” Zoe repeated.

“Yes, it....” Will paused, realizing that Zoe didn’t understand what he was saying. He considered his answer for a moment, then folded his hands in his lap and said, “Zoe, do you know why you have rashes?”

“Because I’m ill,” Zoe answered.

“Your rashes aren’t caused by your illness,” Will said. “They’re trying to protect you from your illness.”

Zoe frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Let me try to explain,” Will said. “Right now, your body is working very, very hard to keep you healthy. You’re trying to fight off the sickness inside you. One of the ways your body fights is by raising your temperature, and that’s why you have a fever. So your fever isn’t really a bad thing; it’s helping you heal. Of course, having a fever that’s too high can also be dangerous, so we have to regulate your temperature externally—” Will stopped, realizing that he was letting himself ramble. He had a habit of that. “Anyway, your body also is fighting on the surface of your skin, which is why you get rashes. Rashes mean that your body is working hard to keep you safe. Do you understand?”

Zoe nodded.

“Unfortunately, it also means that your body is wasting energy fighting in the wrong place,” Will said. “But if I try to get rid of your rashes, I would have to make your body weaker, and that’s the opposite of what I want. The medicine I’m giving you will help your body fight harder. Unfortunately, this means that your fever will rise and....”

“And my rashes will get worse,” Zoe said.

“Yes,” said Will. “But once you’re better, your body will be able to stop fighting so hard and the rashes will go away like they always do.” Will patted her hand. “It’s late. You ought to rest now.”

Zoe tucked herself further under the blankets of her bed as Will cleaned and packed up the equipment he’d used. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lityerses smile gently and kiss his sister’s forehead, but by the time he turned around, Lityerses was standing and ready to escort Will back to his chambers.

Lityerses looked surprised when Will invited him for a drink in his room, but he accepted the offer and found a manservant to bring them tea. Will waited until the servant left them alone with the door shut to ask the question that had been on his mind since their conversation in the mines.

“Does Zoe know?”

Lityerses blew at the steam rising out of his cup. “No,” he said. Will waited patiently while Lityerses took a sip. Lityerses glanced at him and sighed, like he’d hoped Will’s question ended there. “Zoe’s too young to remember his trial. I was only twelve at the time and I was confused, so I defended him because I didn’t realize....” Lityerses paused again and his shoulders dropped. “He’s my father,” he said. “It’s not easy to realize that your father isn’t the hero you thought he was.”

“You only knew what you’d been taught.” Will didn’t say it to be comforting. He meant it more as an observation than an expression of sympathy.

Lityerses’ eyes looked downwards, focusing on the gold-brown ripples on the surface of his tea. He didn’t seem to find much relief in Will’s words, either. “I’d been taught wrong. I understand that now. But Zoe isn’t like me—you have to know that. I had to unlearn everything I knew and completely ruin my image of my father just to be half as kind as her. I don’t want her to have to go through that.”

“So you want her to live in ignorance?”

Lityerses looked up and met Will’s eyes again. “You don’t agree with me.” He didn’t sound accusing. Instead, he sounded questioning, almost pleading, like he was begging Will for his thoughts and guidance.

“I understand your reasoning, but there are too many secrets in your home, Lityerses,” Will said. “Your father’s trying to cover everything wrong that’s happening here, his criminal record is being kept from your sister, your sister’s health is a secret, and you can’t voice your objections to your father.”

“And I want to protect Zoe from all that,” Lityerses said. “At least until she’s older.”

“She’ll start to notice things eventually, just like you did,” Will said. “I think you ought to talk to her before she does. You don’t want her to feel like she’s alone.”

Lityerses nodded. “When she’s older,” he said again. “And healthier. Right now she ought to focus on recovering.”

“Good,” Will said. “And you need to stop hiding from your father. Nothing good will happen if you allow him to continue what he’s doing.”

“I can’t rebel against him.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you?”

Lityerses’ mouth fell open, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’m not saying you have to rebel,” Will went on. “But voice your opinions more often. You have an excuse now—you’re only trying to ensure that the mine follows the guidelines left by the Prince. Then a little later you can start to have an input on how the city is run, on the taxes, and on ways to use your father’s wealth to help people. My husband and I are leaving at the end of the week, Lityerses. Do you want everything to go back to the way it was, or do you want things to change?”

For a long moment, Lityerses remained silent. Finally, he took a breath and started to speak.

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Will heard the click of the handle as he looked up, and there in the doorway stood Nico.

* * *

Nico was livid.

He’d been bothered by what had happened that morning all day. When he met with Midas’ head engineer, he hardly listened to her speak because his mind kept echoing the words he’d snapped at Will for using his given name. Will hadn’t deserved it, he knew. He’d been angry for a foolish reason and had lashed out at Will over a minor offence. And the sight of Will’s face? He had never looked at Nico with a gaze so cold.

Nico hadn’t gotten the chance to speak with Will since he arrived back at the estate after being in the mines all day. He had barely looked at Nico over dinner and he’d once again declined the invitation to meet with Midas. He wanted to read, he’d said.

And then, when Nico went to Will’s rooms to apologize for that morning, he’d found Will not reading, but instead sharing tea with Lityerses. Lityerses, of all people.

“Your Highness,” Will said. There was still a hint of that steely, guarded air around him, but he smiled at Nico. Nico, however, was too furious to care.

“Don’t you think it’s time for you to retire, Lityerses?” Nico said sharply. “It’s awfully late to be in a room alone with another man’s husband.”

The guarded air came crashing back around Will.

Lityerses quickly got to his feet. “Yes, Your Highness, my apologies,” he said, and he left the room with short goodbye to Will. Nico shut the door behind him.

“Why was he here?”

“Because I invited him,” Will answered calmly.

Nico blinked. “You what?”

“I invited him,” Will repeated. He took a sip of tea.

“Invited?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I believe that is what I said.”

Nico’s jaw clenched. “Do not tease me now, Will,” he snapped. “And you did the same thing this morning, too! You sought out Midas alone. I asked you very clearly not to be alone with them.”

“No, you didn’t.” Will set his tea down on the table beside him, right next to the one Lityerses had left behind, and folded his hands primly in his lap. “All you told me was to be careful around Midas.”

“And Lityerses is just as bad as his father! You knew that I didn’t trust him. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”

Will tapped his fingers on his knee once. “I think that Lityerses must have given you a bad impression when you met,” he said slowly.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous—”

“Really, Nico,” Will said, fixing him with a tired, annoyed glare. “He’s helping me with the ponies. He approached me and said that he’d heard I was hard on his father about their welfare, then he gave me some information he thought I might like to know. If you had simply asked instead of accusing me as soon as—”

“It’s a trap,” Nico said. It didn’t even bear thinking about. “Midas must have set him up to it.”

Will sighed like he was dealing with a difficult child. “Why can’t you entertain the possibility that Lityerses is better than his father?”

“Because he’s not!”

“Is this because he’s a failed suitor?”

Nico’s blood at once went icy, and then just as suddenly was hot with fury. Will knew. He knew what Lityerses’ family had done, he knew that Nico hated being reminded of his failures as a suitor, and Will knew, somehow, that Lityerses had been offered to him—a memory that Nico had tried very hard to forget. “Do you think,” Nico growled, “—do you think that this is some petty grudge?”

“Nico—”

“Because I must have been such a horrid suitor, is that it? After all, how is it possible that I failed every attempt at courting until you came along? Clearly— clearly it must have been my fault. Clearly there must have been something wrong with me because it simply isn’t possible for all my suitors to have been so awful. Surely I was immature, saw the worst in everyone, purposely sabotaged every arrangement—”

“Nico—”

“So obviously, if I ever speak ill of someone who was offered as a potential fiancé, then I must be wrong about them. It’s all in my head, isn’t it? I know that’s what everyone’s thinking.”

“I wasn’t trying to—”

“Yes, you were, Will. You were.” Nico turned away before Will could answer. “Goodnight,” he said as he left. He heard Will call his name just as he slammed the door shut.

#solangelo #Nico di Angelo #Will solace #arranged marriage AU #solangelo fanfic #solangelo fanfiction #solangelo arranged marriage au #pjo arranged marriage AU #solangelo royalty au #royalty au #pjo royalty au

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mvndrvke-archive · 4 years

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THE GODS ARE REAL. like, the greek gods. like the ones you learned about, but weren’t paying attention to. well they don’t pay attention to you either, especially if you’re their kid.

yeah the gods are real, and they have kids. and those kids have ISSUES.

independent multimuse featuring annabeth chase, nico di angelo, paul blofis, cecil markowitz, and nyssa barrera from the percy jackson and the olympians / heroes of olympus series. canon disrespected by luna. established march 2019. multiverse. please read rules before interacting.

#pjo rp #pjo indie #pjo indie rp #hoo rp #self promo #yea idk #it's a bird it's a plane it's a queued post!

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blackgwenstacy · 6 years

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‘tis the season (to be merry)

[shows up five days late with starbucks and a gay fanfic] hey y’all merry chrysler

Happy holidays to @connorstolll !! I was your secret santa for @pjosecretsanta2k17. I hope you enjoy your Solangelo college au <3

word count: 2,200

summary: Will Solace is a little in love with his roommate, and holiday party shenanigans only confirm that he’s a lot in love with his roommate.

warnings: alcohol use, a few f-bombs, and STEM major roasts

There’s a certain feeling one gets after taking their very last final of the semester. A freeing feeling, like the entire world has been lifted off their shoulders and each anxiety-ridden thought suddenly flees from their mind.

Will hasn’t felt this relieved since before the semester started. After those stressful weeks, he wants nothing more than to spend his break sleeping, eating, and binge watching Netflix.

And pining after his roommate. His dorky, adorable, oblivious ass roommate.

Will’s had somewhat of a crush on his college roommate, Nico di Angelo, for the past six months. They’ve roomed together for a year now, but it took some time for Will not to be intimidated by Nico’s dark features, brooding expression, and his infinite knowledge on the secrets of the universe.

Once Will had grown used to all of that, however, boy was he gone.

It’s not like Nico seemed to notice any difference in the way Will was acting toward him. It was quite ironic to Will, especially because Nico was the one who loved to rip characters apart and analyze their every word and action. Watching any movie with Nico was one hell of a psychoanalysis.

Then again, Will could be a bit more. . . expressive about his affections. But it’s not like he was letting every opportunity to admit how he feels slip through his fingers, allowing himself to suffer in silence.

(That was exactly what he was doing.)

“Hey,” he calls out upon entering his dorm, stuffing his lanyard into his backpack and tossing it at the foot of his bed. As much as he’d like to sleep forever, he told Travis he would attend he and his brother’s party tonight, so he ought to get ready for that.

“Hey,” Nico responds. He’s in bed, occupied with a rather thick looking book, an empty mug of coffee resting on the nightstand next to him. Will frowns, already knowing Nico was hardly going to pay him any attention, hyper focused on whatever literature he was studying. “How was the Physics exam?”

“Physiology. Anatomy and Physiology.”

“That’s not the same thing?”

“I’m just glad it’s over.” Will plops onto the stiff mattress of his dormitory bed, removing his boots and peeling off his socks. “I thought you were finished with assignments?”

Nico doesn’t look up from the book. “I am.”

“Then why are you reading—” Will gets up, crosses the short distance between their beds and bends over slightly to glance at the book cover, “—Canterbury Tales?”

Nico still doesn’t pay Will any mind, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses. Will struggles to ignore how adorable Nico looks with them on. “I’m taking English Lit next semester— ”

“Oh my god.”

“Did you know J.K. Rowling got inspiration for the Tale of the Three Brothers from the Pardoner’s Tale?”

Will did not know that, and actually thinks it’s pretty cool, but he’s still in disbelief of the fact that Nico was still studying, even after all of his finals.

“Aren’t you tired of reading?”

“Me, the English major, tired of reading? Preposterous.”

“Don’t you want to do something fun?”

Nico drops the heavy book in his lap, taking on a defensive tone. “I think literature is very fun, thank you.”

“Okay,” says Will, “and action potentials are as great as Disney World to me, but even I want nothing to do with them after talking all those exams.”

“You, the STEM major, want nothing to do with action potentials?”

Will chokes back his laugh. He want’s Nico to take him seriously, his sarcasm be damned.

“Take a break, man.”

Nico frowns, taking off his glasses, and Will tries not to look disappointed.

“I don’t know,” Nico sighs. He crawls across his bed and shoves Canterbury Tales into his overflowing bookshelf kept at the foot of it. “It feels weird. Like, I keep thinking there’s something I should be doing.”

“What you should be doing,” Will starts, “is rewarding yourself for surviving Hell Week.” He drops the bomb. “The Stolls are having a holiday party tonight. You should come with me.“

Nico looks the opposite of intrigued. “No, thanks.”

“Come on, Nico,” Will stresses, “You haven’t left the residence hall in two weeks. You’ve only left this dorm room to take your finals.”

“I think having to evacuate last week because Leo started a fire in the communal kitchen counts as me leaving the residence hall.”

Will rolls his eyes. He knows Nico doesn’t have much of a party personality, but some of Nico’s friends would be there. It would be good to catch up with them and get some human interaction.

“It’ll be crowded, and noisy,” Nico objects. “Did you know noise is one of life’s most common stressors?”

Will hums, and quips, “So is loneliness.”

Nico glares at him. “You know, when I decided not to request a different roommate next semester, it’s because I thought there wasn’t any way you could possibly get more irritating.”

Will ignores the jab. “Are you sure it’s not because you love me?”

Nico amusedly raises one of his eyebrows.

“Fine,” Will relents. “I’ll go by myself. Alone. Even though loneliness is one of life’s most common stressors—“

“You are the biggest Drama Queen,” says Nico.

“Says you.“

Nico rolls his eyes, standing up. “Fine, I’ll go. But not for long, I’m already mentally exhausted.”

“Okay, cool,” Will says calmly, though on the inside he was dancing on flowers and rainbows. He gathers up his toiletries and his towel. “We’d better shower. It starts at seven.”

“You better not use my fucking stall, Solace, I swear to god.”

Will doesn’t know what he was expecting when Nico agreed to go to the Stoll’s party with him. Perhaps he thought Nico would spend the whole time sitting quietly, keeping to himself and counting the minutes until it would be over. Maybe he thought the festive atmosphere would warm Nico’s heart like his smile did to Will’s cheeks, and he would confess his love to Will after the two shared a cliche kiss under the mistletoe.

Whatever he was expecting, it definitely wasn’t this.

“And since we’ve no place to goooo, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow,” Nico sings, or slurs rather, along with Dean Martin’s suave voice. His face falls. “I can’t believe Jon Snow died.”

“He came back,” Will reminds him.

Nico’s face lights up, and so does Will’s heart. “Woah, you’re right.”

They sit next to each other on a raggedy green sofa in the Stoll’s apartment. There’s music playing in the background, the playlist going back and forth between traditional Christmas songs and whatever’s on the Hot 100 this week. There’s a few dozen people that are here, most of them Will knew by association. They’ve only been here an hour and Nico’s on his third cup of eggnog.

“I’ve been thinking,“ Nico starts, “when I was a kid they made us pick grass and put it in a box under the tree for the camels to eat on Three Kings Day and when I was a kid I didn’t question it but now I’m not a kid and camels don’t eat grass. Wait—do they?”

Will isn’t sure if he’s amused or concerned by how many conjunctions Nico just used in one sentence. Nico has a conniption every time Will uses a comma in an unnecessary place when they text.

“—They live in the desert. There’s no grass in the desert. Wait—is there?”

Nico doesn’t indulge in alcohol very often. Not that Will has ever seen, at least. He wonders if he usually sings Christmas carols and talks about camels when he’s drunk.

He watches as Nico scowls and peers curiously into his red cup. “I think there’s something in this eggnog.”

“Yes. Rum. I told you that before you drank it.”

Nico’s eyebrows raise, far enough for his bangs to hide them, blinks with wide eyes. “Oh shit.”

Then he shrugs, and downs the rest of the spiked drink. Unbelievable.

Will snorts. “You’re going to regret that.”

Nico grins mischievously. “Me, the college student with an existential crisis, having regrets?” he says, looking about the room. His eyebrows fly into his hair again. “Does Percy have samosas?”

Nico stumbles to his feet, and disregards Will as he chases down Percy for some of his samosas.

Well, at least Nico wasn’t miserable, Will thinks. He was enjoying himself, sort of. This could’ve been worse.

Will sits through a horribly rehearsed, yet hilariously iconic Mean Girl’s Jingle Bell Rock reenactment by Leo, Piper, Percy, and Jason, and a marshmallow eating contest between Cecil and Lou Ellen. It’s been twenty minutes and Nico still hasn’t returned. Will hopes he’s not throwing up eggnog and samosas in the bathroom right now.

He waits five more minutes before getting up to go look, passing a couple passionately making out under the mistletoe in the hallway. He checks the bathroom, which happens to be empty, and unwillingly checks the two bedrooms, which are not so empty. He hopes the Stolls change their sheets before they crash later.

Having no luck thus far, Will ventures into the kitchen. Maybe Nico’s judgement wasn’t totally impaired and he decided to find some water to flush his system. Or he was looking for more eggnog.

“Hey, Will,” a familiar voice says. Connor Stoll, sitting atop the kitchen island, grins down at him. He has a red solo cup in one hand, the other rests around the shoulders of his boyfriend, Mitchell. He raises his cup. “Eggnog?”

Will shakes his head. “I’m good.”

“DD?” Mitchell asks.

“Well, I guess so now.”

Mitchell raises a pierced eyebrow.

“I came with Nico. He’s kind of tipsy.”

“It’s Grandma Stoll’s famous holiday eggnog,” says Connor, raising his cup in praise. “Pure fuel.”

“Hey, have either of you seen him? I’ve been looking for him for half an hour—“

“Found him,” Mitchell smirks, pointing with his cup. Next to him Connor bursts out in rambunctious laughter.

“Oh, yeah, he’s feeling merry, all right!”

Will spins around, and — Oh. Oh.

Nico was dancing rather uncoordinatedly in the middle of the living room, surrounded by a dozen people, an Ariana Grande song blaring from the speakers. Everyone whoops as the dark-haired boy gyrates his hips on an offbeat.

Will lets out a bark of laughter, unbelieving of what he was witnessing.

“Strip tease!” a voice that sounds suspiciously like Leo yells.

Nico smirks at the suggestion, but doesn’t move to take off his clothing. That is, until, he catches Will’s eye in the crowd of people.

He sends Will a wink, and begins to pull off his sweater. Will can feel his stomach flip, his face heating up.

There are hoots and hollers, and people scramble to pull out their phones. It only seems to egg Nico on more. Will thinks there’s a bit too much liquid courage pumping through his veins.

He. . . should probably stop this. Nico would be mortified in the morning if Will let him give all their classmates a drunken strip-tease.

Nico’s stripping doesn’t advance very far, however, because his sweater promptly gets stuck over his head. Everyone roars with laughter, Nico’s giggles muffled by the knitted fabric.

Will grows anxious at all the phones recording tonight’s events. There was no way Nico wanted to be the center of everyone’s social media attention. He pushes his way through the crowd, grabbing at Nico. “O-kay!”

He pulls the drunken man away from the limelight, into a less crowded hallway.

Nico speaks from inside his sweater. “Will, is that you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m stuck.”

Will laughs fondly. “I see that. Here.”

Will helps Nico pull his sweater back down. Nico huffs and ruffles his hair, looking flustered.

“I think,” says Will, fixing Nico’s bird nest hair, “you’ve had too much eggnog.”

Nico hiccups in response.

“We should probably go back to the residence hall,” Will suggests, and Nico nods exaggeratedly in agreement. His brown eyes catch on something above them.

“What?” Will asks, and follows Nico’s eyes. Oh.

A mistletoe, in all it’s holly jolly glory, hangs mockingly right above them.

Yeah, they’re not doing that.

��That’s so cliche,” Nico comments, squinting at the fake branch.

“I agree,” says Will. He grabs Nico by the shoulders, spins him around so he can guide him. “Let’s go.”

It took nearly an hour to get Nico back to their dorm. Will struggled with guiding the stumbling man all the way to his car, then had to drive slower than usual due to Nico’s complaints of motion sickness. And as much as he adored Nico, he would still kick his ass for throwing up eggnog and samosas inside of his car.

“Oh, you are going to hate me tomorrow,” Will says to Nico, tapping through the stories on his Snapchat feed. There were various clips of Nico’s clumsy performance tonight. Hysterical as it was, Will felt slightly embarrassed for him.

Nico looks over from where Will had tucked him into his bed. “Enough to change my roommate request?”

Will laughs at Nico for the hundredth time tonight. “I hope not.”

“It’s okay,” Nico yawns before continuing, “you’re a STEM major and I still haven’t requested a new roommate. You could be in league with the First Order and I still wouldn’t request a new roommate.”

Will snorts. He wasn’t sure how Nico could be intoxicated and still manage to be a fucking nerd.

Will puts his phone to sleep, setting it down on his nightstand. He turns in his bed to face Nico. “Why’s that?”

“You said it yourself,” says Nico. Will stares at him for a long time, not quite sure what he meant. Nico smiles at him, and turns in his bed. “Merry Christmas, Will.”

Christmas wasn’t for another week. Nonetheless, Will smiles fondly, and turns off his lamp. He lies down and indulges in the butterflies that warm his stomach. They match the fluttering of his heart.

“Merry Christmas, Nico.”

the Ariana Grande song Nico was dancing to was Wit It This Christmas LMAO

#pjosecretsanta2k17 #connorstolll #solangelo #fic #my writing #mine #Will solace #Nico di Angelo #dsfdjslfsdlkfj i haven't written in so long i hope that was okay #when in doubt just compose the entire fic out of dialogue and nerdy references #i don't hate STEM majors pls no one attack me sdlkfjdsj #also i still have no idea how to write in present tense can u tell

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