slightlylessmediocre

[slightlylessmediocre]

Run Away Home

Eddie Munson x Fem! Reader

1.5K words, little ficlet about Eddie bringing reader home for the first time. Writing more, not sure I’ll ever post it but I liked this first part. Eddie has such a hold on me s2g

Warnings: sex mentions

A/N: i consume a lot of media at once and it’s all churning around my smooth brain so some details may be wrong and I will NOT do research about the 80s to fact check myself, thank you very much. 

“Eddie,” You laughed as he stepped out of the bathroom. “You can’t wear that.”

He looked down at himself, baffled. “Wha- this is what I always wear!” He protested truthfully. Ripped jeans, black shirt under a leather jacket and combat boots was essentially his daily attire. 

“Did you even pack a tie?” You walked over to his suitcase, laying next to yours where he dropped them last night when you arrived in his old home town. Hawkins, Indiana. 

You had heard the stories. Well, you had heard some. Eddie had never been particularly forthcoming about his home. When you had first met him, he played the rock-band-front-man-with-mysterious-past expertly. “I’m from nowhere,” He would say when anyone asked. 

Nowhere wasn’t entirely wrong, you had realized as you flew over the plains and farms and tiny little towns with populations smaller than the block you and Eddie lived on now. Eventually, when you started dating, he had opened up a little more and explained his cursed hometown. Disappearances and deaths and fires and government conspiracies that were honestly a little hard to follow. You thought it was because maybe Eddie was exaggerating, or too traumatized to make sense on the subject, and your naturally curious nature had you doing research in the library. You were shocked that so much came up when looking into Hawkins. Eddie hadn’t exaggerated, if anything he had undersold this weird place. 

“Do you even own a tie?” You added, a genuine question. 

“Why would I own a tie?” He scoffed. 

You rolled your eyes fondly. It was true, not like he needed one in Seattle, where he worked in the record shop by day and played clubs by night. “Babe,” You turned from the luggage to look at him again. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I don’t think it was for fashion advice, princess.” He replied with a devilish smirk. When you started fucking- a few months before you started dating- you called him ‘babe’ because it annoyed him. He had called you ‘princess’ because it annoyed you. You weren’t entirely sure when that had changed but hearing it now, paired with that smile, you were ready to jump back into bed with him. 

Not that you had time for that, or even this discussion. Still you waited, eyebrows raised, for him to try again. “Because I wanted to introduce you to my friends.” He shrugged, crossing his arms tightly. 

You sighed, straightening up so you could cross the space between you. “Eddie…” He was refusing to meet your eyes. It hurt to see him like this. He had been growing more and more distant every day the week before you left for Indiana, culminating in the plane ride in which Eddie was somehow both jumpy and detached. You knew he had to come back, to see his friends and face his demons but part of you wondered if it was too soon. 

You wrapped your arms around his waist, his own arms immediately moving to pull you closer on instinct. You tucked your face into his arm, inhaling the scent of him. He always smelled like a campfire to you- warm, cozy, smoke floating up into a clear night sky full of stars. Eddie rested his cheek on the top of your head and you felt him take a deep breath. 

“I am your princess.” You told him. It felt a bit silly, but you needed him to hear it. “You slayed the dragon, you won the battle, and your prize is me.”

“You know that’s not how I see you-“

“No, listen.” You insisted, pressing a kiss to his bicep even though he probably couldn’t feel it through the leather. “You deserve to be happy, Eddie. I like to think I make you as happy as you make me. And you don’t- we don’t need to prove our happiness to anyone just to make it true. But you get to be able to stomp back into this shitty little town, with someone who loves you on your arm, and show them you don’t care what they did back then or what they think now. That’s why I’m here.” 

He was quiet for a moment, mulling it over. “Hey,” He finally spoke. You looked up at him, and he put his hand on your neck, tipping your chin back with his thumb for easier access before he leaned down to kiss you. His long fingers on your neck, your pulse, while his tongue swept in your mouth- it still sent shivers down your spine. The temptation to push him towards the bed and forget the whole reason you even came here was huge. 

He was the one to pull away, far too soon for your liking. Eddie was looking down at you with his big, brown eyes, staring straight into your soul. “I fucking love you.” 

You got up on your tiptoes to press another quick kiss to his lips. “I fucking love you.” You told him. It wasn’t the first time either of you had said it, but his face still lit up like a Christmas tree, his big smile coming out in full strength. You couldn’t stop yourself from beaming back. “But you can’t wear that.” You added. He threw his head back and laughed. “You’re trying to prove a point, coming back and bringing me here, but you’re not proving anything wearing the same clothes you did in high school.”

“These are not-“ He started, eyes wide with mock outrage.

“I know, I know.” You waved him off, pulling away and going back to your suitcase. “You’re so lucky I know you so well.” You said, digging through your own clothes to the bottom of your suitcase where you had packed a nicer change of clothes for him, for this exact reason. You tossed him these clothes and watched his mock outrage turned into a shade of the real thing. 

“Princess, what? No. I’m not wearing this monkey suit.” 

“It’s not a monkey suit!” You laughed. “It’s a polo shirt and slacks.” 

“It’s what prep school jocks wear, Y/N.” He raised an eyebrow. 

“They’re your signature color!” You pointed out.

“Hang on,” He lowered the clothes in his hands, another smirk playing on his lips. “Are you into this, princess? Do you like the whole mortgage broker, asshole vibe? Do you want me to dress up for you?”

“No! Oh my God…” You rolled your eyes as he pulled his beautiful hair back, holding it one hand while he straightened his stance. 

“Would you like to apply for a loan?” He said, doing a mocking accent that was a terrible cross between British and New York. “It’ll be at a 7% interest rate.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” You laughed. 

“Oh?” He drew his hand to his chest. “Now it’ll be 5%.” He threatened. 

“I’m pretty sure that’s better.” You pointed out. 

Eddie’s character facade disappeared for a moment as he frowned. But his evil smile quickly returned. “I meant FIFTEEN!” He lunged forward, and you screeched as he tackled you, wrapping his arms around your center. He stopped there, resting his head in your lap. He kissed your exposed thigh, not to turn you on but just as if to reassure himself you were here, real. “With all this talk about what I’m wearing, you’re still wearing a robe.” He pointed out. 

“I always change last, you know that.” Makeup and hair came first. 

“What if we just,” His hand drifted upward to grab the sash on your robe. He slowly began to tug on it. “Forgot about the thing. And stayed here.” He kissed your thigh again, higher this time, letting his lips linger on your skin. 

“Your friends would be mad.” You replied, trying to sound convincing but you sounded breathless instead. 

“Mmm, friends, yeah.” He continued pulling, the sash slowly coming undone. 

“If you just wanted to fuck me, we could have stayed in Seattle.” You added. 

“But Hawkins has never heard the way you scream when I’m inside of you.” He mumbled, looking up at you through his long eyelashes. 

It was getting hard to focus. “You were inside of me last night.”

“Yeah but you were a very good girl for me,” He kissed you again on your thigh just as the knot on your sash came undone. Your robe drifted open, just a bit, exposing just a bit of skin. “So quiet. I didn’t even know you could be that quiet.” 

“Not like I have to worry about it at home, our neighbors are never around.” You wondered if he could tell how wet you already were. How quickly and easily he did this to you. 

“Probably for the best.” He agreed, before he sucked on your skin, quick but hard and you couldn’t stop the moan that came out of your mouth. You could feel him smile. “You’re right of course.” Eddie pulled away, and you just stopped yourself from groaning in protest. He didn’t need that self-satisfied smirk to get any bigger. “We do have to get going. You should really change.” He added as he pushed off of you, grabbing the clothes you had given him and sauntering towards the bathroom with this damn rock band hips that drove you crazy. 

You did get your own satisfied smirk when you heard the water start running, a quiet yelp following. Cold water. Damn right. 

#stranger things #stranger things season 4 #sts4 #st s 4 #eddie munson #eddie x reader #eddie munson x reader #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #eddie munson fanfic #y/n #eddie munson x y/n

[slightlylessmediocre]

Wow thanks Word

(idk why but this made me laugh)

Also this totally serves as an update to the fact that I AM WRITING but I'm so busy guys with college and scholarships and so many classes its so much I just can't find time to actually finish anything for which I am sorry. Maybe over Christmas break? I'm trying guys!

#autocorrect #amirite #but yeah sorry guys #IM TRYING

[slightlylessmediocre]

Older!Percy and Younger! Nico ficlet.

When the bell finally rang, Nico let out a sigh of relief. He had thought that Camp Half Blood was bad, but high school was it’s own level of the Underworld. He was almost done with his senior year. Nico would graduate with his diploma and his boyfriend, Percy, would finally stop bothering him about his lack of schooling.

It seemed unfair, honestly, that Nico was being picked on. It’s not like he was stupid, and half bloods rarely finish regular school. They’re taught what they need to know at camp. But that was where Percy had Nico, because Nico hadn’t regularly attended camp either.

So Nico was forced- on pain of scorn and with held sex- to attend high school. Thankfully, it was almost over. Of course, once it was over, Percy would be returning to Camp Half Blood and Nico would have no choice but to follow. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak. He tried to avoid thinking about it, and enjoying the time he had with Percy, alone.

Nico trudged out of school, backpack slung over one shoulder and squinting in the bright light. Percy would be waiting for him at his usual spot, about a block away from the school. He was thankful that it wasn’t any further, because the day was kind of hot, and Nico’s entirely black wardrobe made the heat even more intense.

Percy had volunteered to wait for him closer, but Nico was worried about what it would look like to everyone else. What if they thought Percy was Nico’s dad? That would make things awkward. It would perhaps be worse if they figured out that Percy and Nico were dating. Nico didn’t want anyone to know that he was gay, and there was the slight issue of the law. Because technically with Nico not quite yet being 18, and Percy being almost 25, they technically weren’t allowed to be together. Technically.

The age difference in Percy and Nico was unfortunately obvious, if you saw them walking down the street hand in hand. Percy was about six inches taller, more built from extra years of sword fighting. Beside him, Nico looked skinny and small in comparison, even if he was neither. Percy had a strong jaw, constantly lined with stubble but Nico still had a sharp jaw and he couldn’t grow a beard if he tried. Nico had gotten an undercut, so he only had a mess of hair on the top of his head, while Percy’s black hair was still rather long and untidy. Percy told Nico that he loved his hair, but Nico felt that he looked like a kid playing at being an adult.

They were both fairly certain that it was their personalities that kept people from asking too many questions. Nico was dark and moody, constantly carrying an aura of darkness around him. People who knew he was a son of Hades understood, but mortals always skirted around him, careful to avoid contact if possible. Percy still acted like a child, always smiling and laughing and bouncing around his boyfriend. Percy loved making Nico laugh- it was his absolute favorite thing in the world, a gift better than anything all the gods had given him combined. He was constantly cracking terrible jokes, falling over himself, making funny faces- anything to get Nico to crack a smile. But no one else knew that of course; they just saw a tall, muscular child goofing around, holding hands with a small, skinny Goth kid.

  But Percy didn’t care about the age difference. And Nico didn’t care. And their friends who knew didn’t mind much. And Sally, Percy’s mom, though she didn’t quite know the extent of their relationship, was happy that her son was happy.

Though they might have cared a little more if they knew that Nico was living with Percy in his tiny apartment on the Upper East Side. It was more for convenience than anything else. Nico made Percy swear that it meant nothing, but Percy kept grinning so Nico wasn’t sure anything went through. Nico was never sure what went through his boyfriend’s thick skull.

Nico turned the corner onto the alley where Percy waited for him- tucked between two apartment buildings. As soon as he did, someone shoved him against the wall. He was about to shove back when Percy pressed his mouth against Nico’s. Nico gave a small sigh of release as he wrapped his fingers in his boyfriend’s messy black hair, pulling Percy closer. Percy kept Nico pinned against the wall with his hips, opening his mouth wider to deepen the kiss. Percy enjoyed the few moments where he was on top, as they so rarely happened. Percy liked to think of himself as more of a power bottom. He was too worried about hurting Nico or going to far to take top when they did anything more than kiss.

Its one of the reasons why Percy was looking forward to Nico’s birthday. He could finally show Nico what it meant to be a bottom. Plus, the whole legal thing was good too.

Percy pulled back when he could tell Nico finally needed air. Nico gasped at the sudden surplus of oxygen, and Percy smiled at his expression.

“Hey. I missed you.”

“Hey. I was only gone for seven hours.” Nico replied, but his chest warmed at Percy’s words.

“Hey. Seven hours way from you is still seven hours too many.” Percy insisted.

“Gods, you’re so needy, Jackson.” Nico rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing we sleep in the same bed or you’d be constantly calling me in the middle of the night just to talk.”

“I thought you said I woke you up anyway because of my snoring.” Percy grinned.

“You do.” Nico admitted. He pulled Percy into him, wrapping his skinny arms around Percy’s waist. “But it’s not so bad because we’re in the same bed. Plus, I got used to it after a couple of months.”

“A couple of months?” Percy repeated, laughing. “Well, I’m glad it only bothered you for a couple of months.” He taunted.

Nico frowned. “You’re lucky I even agreed to put up with it.”

“I’m very lucky.” Percy agreed, but his tone was so honest and sincere that Nico blushed. Thankfully, Percy couldn’t see Nico’s face, as it was tucked against his chest.

Nico pulled away finally and interlacing his fingers with Percy’s. Nico’s hands were always cold, his fingers long and bony. Percy’s hands were strong, warm and rough. They fit perfectly into each other- hands, lips, bodies and souls.

“Let’s go home.” Nico smiled slightly, causing Percy to break out in his full-watt smile.

“Agreed.”

#percico #fanfic #fanfiction #percy jackson #Nico di Angelo #nico x percy #percy x nico #Heroes of Olympus #hoo #hoo fanfic #heroes of olympus fanfiction

[slightlylessmediocre]

The Big (Blue) Apple

Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson, new to New York City, are set up to be roommates. Things don't go as smoothly as they had hoped. NYC Percabeth mortal roommates AU. 

(So I already posted this to AO3 but I figured I would post it here. I'm not quite sure when this will end or anything but I'm having a lot of fun writing it so it's kind of taken priority. Hopefully you guys will like it too!)

Annabeth

“I don’t know, Grover.” Annabeth sighed into the phone. She leaned back on the uncomfortable airport chair and did a scan around the room- drab gray walls, few windows, gray tiles intermixed with gray carpeting. Airports could be pretty, but they so rarely were. If Annabeth designed this place, it would be huge, with high ceilings, much more sitting room, big windows everywhere to watch planes land and take off- and there would be color. Airports should be happy places, to help calm those with the fear of flying (like one of Annabeth’s best friends, Thalia), to excite those going on vacation and to make people going on business trips slightly happier. Despite the fact that Annabeth had been in four airports so far this weekend, she had yet to find one that she liked.

            “Come on, Annabeth, he’s a good guy. Well, he’s a nice guy, anyway even if he’s had some…. trouble with the law. But nothing like, evil or harmful.” Grover assured her quickly.

            Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I’m not worried about that. I can handle myself. It’s just… moving into an apartment in New York City with a complete stranger seems so…” Annabeth struggled to find a word. Dangerous and scary both popped into her head, but neither of those quite fit. She had done things far more dangerous and way scarier than sharing an apartment with someone getting out of a reformatory.

            “Annabeth, you’re looking for someone to share an apartment with who you’ll always be smarter than, right?” Grover asked, breaking the silence.

            If it hadn’t been so late at night and if she wasn’t so exhausted, Annabeth might have blushed. That was what she told Grover originally, when she called him to say she was moving to New York City and asked about roommates. Her original idea was to move in with Grover, who had a great (though expensive) apartment overlooking Central Park. That’s when Grover confessed he had sold that apartment a few months ago, and was going around the continent with various environmental groups trying to make a difference. He felt so bad about ruining her plans that he promised to find her a roommate, even though he really didn’t have to. Annabeth was highly grateful for his help. When Grover asked her what she was looking for, her response was something along the lines of, “Someone I will always be smarter than. I’m sick of living under people who think they’re so much better than me, people who think they have all the answers. I want to be that person for once.”

            Annabeth knew Grover knew she was talking about her mom, Ms. Always-Right-Always-Smarter-Always-Better, but Grover was too nice to comment on it. He assured Annabeth that he would find her the ‘dumbest person looking for a roommate in New York City he could find’, and they both had a good laugh.

            Only now, according to what Grover had described he seemed to have actually done just that.

            “Right.” Annabeth finally answered.

            “Well that wasn’t hard because you’re smarter than most people but you will without a doubt always be smarter than Percy. He’s a nice guy, he’ll pay the rent and he probably won’t even be home to bother you that much.” Grover replied.

            “That will be nice.” She mused.

            “Plus A) you two together is the only way you can afford this apartment and B) you have both already signed the lease. No backing out now. At least, not for another six months. Call it a trial period.”

            Annabeth sort of laughed. “Alright, alright. Fine.” Of course, she wasn’t backing out in the first place, but she was starting to feel hesitant and that’s why she called Grover. Grover had always looked out for her, trying to make sure whatever she was doing was in her best interest. It was like having another parent (as if she needed anymore of those) only she actually liked Grover, and appreciated his advice.

            “Well, good luck Annabeth. Hey, I’ll talk to you later, all right? I got to go, I’m not actually really supposed to be using my cell phone out here.” Grover told her.

            “Oh sorry.” Annabeth felt guilty that he felt obligated to pick up the phone. He had asked her not to call unless it was an emergency, and this hadn’t really counted.

            “It’s not problem, Chase. Just be careful, okay? I’ll call you when I can.”

            “Alright, thanks Underwood.” Annabeth smiled. They said their final goodbyes and hung up.

            Annabeth readjusted her hoodie, trying to make it into a more comfortable pillow and settled down in attempt to get some sleep before her next, and final flight.

 Percy

Percy didn’t know why he moved to New York City, of all places. It was nowhere near the beach, too close to Chiron’s Home for Boys, his old reformatory, and now that Grover didn’t live there he knew exactly zero people in the city.

            The main reason was probably his mom, who lived just outside of the city. Percy didn’t want to live in the same neighborhood, but he wanted to be close by. While Sally assured Percy that he could go wherever he wanted and he shouldn’t worry about her, especially since she had Paul now, Percy still worried. Paul seemed like a nice guy, but things could change and if they ever did Percy didn’t want to have to travel too far to kick Paul’s ass if he ever hurt Sally.

            Plus New York City was a cultural center, melting pot of America, blah blah blah. Surely there would be something to keep him entertained. Preferably something legal (he had heard stories about the NYPD- they definitely were not to be messed with) but then again little crimes probably went unnoticed, since the city was so big. Percy was going to try the legal stuff first though.

            Originally the idea was to move into Grover’s sweet apartment downtown and then they could tear it up all over the city. Grover probably knew tons of legal things that were still fun, and all the hottest clubs and bars too. Of course when he called Grover to propose the most brilliant of all brilliant plans, Grover told him he had sold the apartment and was living in a tent somewhere. Not exactly Percy’s idea of fun, although he knew it was Grover’s so at least someone was happy.

            “If you’re really set on the city, though, I could find you a roommate. I might know someone already, actually.” Grover had told him.

            “As long as they fit my one criteria.”

            “What’s that?”

            “Well since you’re off the table, and I don’t know anyone else, I need my roommate to be hot.” Percy had grinned, even though Grover couldn’t see it.

            “Hot?” Grover had echoed.

            “Yes!” Percy had insisted. “I’ve been living in Chiron’s Home for Boys for the past two years. Do you know how may hot girls, or any girls I’ve seen in that time? Practically none!”

            Grover had been silent for a moment before responding. “Fair enough. Believe it or not, the girl I was talking about does match your criteria. And I’m pretty sure you match hers.”

            Grover set up the entire thing. Percy hadn’t even talked to this girl yet, which made him slightly suspicious. Grover was almost too determined to not let them talk to each other, but he wouldn’t say why.

            Percy was set to meet Annabeth today for lunch, at a burger place in the NBC building. It sounded fancy, and expensive which didn’t bode well for Percy.

            For the last few days, Percy had been staying in his mom’s spare room but he was kind of relieved to finally be leaving. Despite what his mom had said about not needed him, she was kind of fussing over him. Percy was locked in his room, anxiously waiting on the email Grover promised to send him with a picture of his new roommate, so he knew who he was looking for. Unfortunately, Grover hadn’t given him an exact time because he wasn’t sure when he would get done with his daily cleaning of the local hiking trail activity. Percy was stuck hoping it would be before he had to leave the house, constantly refreshing the page.

            Percy was about to explode, as he had been sitting still for half an hour already, a long time for someone with ADHD. He clicked the refresh button one more time and voilà, like magic a new email appeared from Grover. Percy opened it eager to see the face of his new hot roommate.

            Hey, Percy!

Sorry this took so long, trail was a little messier than we anticipated. I hope I’m not too late to catch you before you have to catch the subway. Anway, here’s your new roommate- Annabeth Chase. Remember she can be a little stuffy when you first get to know her, but she’s really a great person. I hope this works out for both of you.

                        Talk to you later, man! Let me know how lunch goes!

                                    Grover

Percy clicked on the picture, and he was definitely not disappointed. Smiling back at him was a gorgeous girl, with curly blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. Her smile was wide and genuine, lighting up her eyes. She had a cute nose that turned up slightly at the end. Not to mention her body- tall and thin with perfect curves, and hints of muscle on her arms and legs. She could definitely hold her own in a fight. Percy didn’t even realize he liked that sort of thing in a girl, until he saw it on her.

This was going to be a great year for Percy Jackson, he thought, grinning at the picture of his new roommate.

#percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #hoo #Heroes of Olympus #heroes of olympus fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #Grover Underwood #mortal au #roommates au #nyc au #sort of #i mean i guess they kind of live near it #whatever

[slightlylessmediocre]

PSA

So someone suggested I get an A03 account so I finally did and I'm sort of (?) getting the hang of it. It takes me a while to format stuff so I've only posted most of All Aboard BUT I also started posting a new fic that I'm REALLY EXCITED ABOUT. Its so fun to write i have so many plans for it!! It's a Percabeth mortal roommates AU. I'll post it on here eventually too probably but if you don't want to wait here's my account. Thanks guys I love ever single one of you okay I'm done now.

#yayyy for new places #yaaay for new fics #but as aforementioned i am #going to leaky so al my accounts will be kind of inactive for a little while #okay just so you know #BYE

[slightlylessmediocre]

Karaoke Night- Classic

In which Reyna sings Classic by MKTO to Annabeth at a karaoke bar. 

(This ended up being a lot longer than I intended but I had the idea in my head for a while, stewing and getting more detailed before I finally wrote it down. Also I personally thinks this works much better if you listen to the song when it starts in the fic. Just listen and PICTURE IT.)

            Annabeth didn’t know what she was doing here. Well, she did, because she was designated driver so she had yet to have any alcohol and thus no memory loss but she was still confused as to how she ended up here- in a karaoke bar. She was pretty sure it was Percy and Jason’s idea. Normally she had a group of reasonable people behind her and honestly, she wasn’t quite sure where they went- instead of saying ‘Maybe we should go somewhere else’ they just said ‘No thanks, but you have fun’, which was certainly not as helpful.

            Hazel and Frank politely declined. Hazel wasn’t interested in, what she referred to as ‘a bunch of drunk people singing remixes of songs I don’t even like in the first place’. Hazel wasn’t really into current music, and if you asked her about it too much you risked her giving you a lecture on ‘the good ol’ days’. Frank, of course, wasn’t interested in anything Hazel wasn’t interested in.

            Nico had said that he would rather light himself on fire, and then walked away.

            Unfortunately, Piper was totally into the idea. “A karaoke bar? Fun!” She clapped her hands together. “Oh, oh! I can sing a duet with Jason!” She said excitedly, and then cackled.

            “I’m game!” Leo had agreed excitedly.

            Reyna was also weirdly into the idea- or at least she didn’t reject it out of hand. “That could be entertaining.” She mused. “I wouldn’t mind watching Percy and Jason make fools of themselves.”  She laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to be designated driver?”

            Annabeth sighed. “It’s fine. I’d rather be sober through the experience.”

            “That way you can remember it?” Reyna asked.

            “That way I don’t get roped into singing anything.” Annabeth replied.

            Reyna smiled. “That would be something to see.” She mused. “But I understand. I won’t be singing either.”

            “I wouldn’t be so sure.” Annabeth said quietly.

            “Why not?”

            “Well you are going to be drinking. Plus Percy and Jason can be pretty persuasive- especially when you’re drunk. Then their logic actually sounds logical.” Annabeth replied.

            Reyna rolled her eyes. “I’m sure I can hold my own, Wise Girl. If you’ll recall, I don’t get drunk easily.”

            Annabeth laughed and they had left it at that because it was true- Reyna didn’t get drunk easily.

            So what had happened? By the time they got to the bar, Reyna was already kind of touchy-feely, with Annabeth and Piper and Jason and Percy and Leo. Annabeth knew her girlfriend well enough to recognize her first drunk phase stage, and she needed a lot of alcohol to get there.

            Almost as soon as they sat down at a table rather close to the stage, Percy ordered a round of shots for the table. “What kind of shots?” The waitress asked.

            “The kind that’ll get us up on that stage! Surprise us.” Percy replied. Jason and Piper burst into giggles at that. The waitress shrugged like, Fair enough and walked away.

            Annabeth turned to her girlfriend, who was tracing patterns on Annabeth’s back. “You are so beautiful.” Reyna told her.

            “Mmhmm.” Annabeth replied distractedly, gently taking Reyna’s hands from her back and holding them. “Did you guys have something to drink before we got here?”

            “What? Oh, yeah. Jason gave us… something.” She frowned, sticking her lower lip out in a way that was almost unbearably cute.

            Annabeth turned to the table. “Is everyone here already drunk?” She demanded.

            “WHAT? NO!” Leo yelled, making Annabeth flinch. He tended to get kind of loud when he had been drinking.

            “We haven’t even had our shots yet, Annabeth.” Piper said, but it was slightly slurred.

            “Yeah, alright. Just go easy there guys. I am not cleaning up puke from the back of the van.” Percy and Jason burst into laughter at that. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

            “Annabeth you are so pretty when you’re pouty.” Reyna said, pulling her girlfriend slightly closer.

            “And you are very grope-y when you’re drunk.” Annabeth smiled.

            “I am not!” Reyna protested.

            “You grabbed my butt!” Leo yelled, pointing accusingly at Reyna.

            “No I didn’t!” She yelled, but she turned slightly pink.

            Annabeth laughed. “Let’s just keep our hands to ourselves, hm, Ra-ra?” Annabeth was the only one who got to call her that without getting murderous glancing, and sometimes even she got them. But not, of course, when Reyna was drunk.

            “Or you?” Reyna asked hopefully.

            “Or me.” Annabeth allowed after a minute. Reyna grinned before pulling Annabeth closer and pressing her lips against Annabeth’s.

            “Get a room!” Percy called, but Annabeth waved away his comment. Sometimes babysitting drunk people wasn’t all that bad.

              When everyone else was on their third shot (two rounds of jelly, one round flaming tequila which especially excited Leo), Annabeth was on her sixth soda. They had successfully managed to avoid the most embarrassing moments (namely Leo almost singing ‘Girl on Fire’ and Percy almost beating up a guy who said his rendition of ‘Octopus’s Garden’ wasn’t very good). Piper had gotten up and sung ‘Sweet Dreams’ and she had a surprisingly great voice, even if her words were slurred.

            But when Annabeth polished off her seventh soda, she really, really, really had to pee. She made Piper promise to watch the boys and Reyna, not because Piper seemed the most sober, but rather she seemed the least drunk. Annabeth had given a stern look to the table before running off to find the bathroom.

            Three minutes. Four tops. That’s all it could’ve taken for Annabeth to pee, wash her hands, make sure her hair looked okay, reapply her lip-gloss and get back to the table.

            It was four minutes too many.

            As she went to take her seat, opening her mouth to ask where her girlfriend was, Reyna appeared in a beam of light on the stage.

            “What did you do?” She hissed at Percy and Jason, who were practically pissing themselves laughing.

            “She wanted to sing.” Percy said, giving an innocent look to Annabeth with those sea-green eyes.

            “Bullshit!” Annabeth accused. She wondered if it was too late to pull her girlfriend off the stage. “Piper, why didn’t you stop her?”

            Piper shrugged, but she did actually look apologetic. “Percy and Jason suggested it, but she really wanted to, Annabeth.”

            “We promised it would get her laid.” Percy admitted.

“What?!” Annabeth screeched.

“Yeah so you better pay up, Annabeth.” Jason laughed. “At least she waited for you to get back!” He added in a way that was clearly supposed to make her feel better.

It didn’t. It also didn’t help that Jason appeared to be recording the stage with the emergency phone. “That’s for emergencies only, Jason!” Annabeth made a swipe for the phone, but Percy stopped her.

“Nothing in the history of forever will ever be as important as Reyna singing karaoke! We have to record it! For science!” Percy yelled.

“For science!” Jason and Piper repeated loudly.

Annabeth groaned, dropping her head on the table and praying to the gods that her girlfriend wasn’t about to make a fool of herself

That’s when something else registered. She picked her head up. “Hey wait, where’s Leo?” She asked, momentarily panicked- she didn’t want to have to be running around making sure Leo wasn’t starting any fires while her girlfriend sang on a stage.

Percy opened his mouth to respond, but Leo’s voice interrupted him. “Hey, where’s the drums?” He called, from just the left of Reyna- and then the music started.

It took .000002 seconds for Annabeth to recognize the song Reyna chose. Annabeth turned bright red, partially embarrassed for her girlfriend and partially embarrassed because as Reyna began to sing ‘Classic’ by MKTO, she was singing directly at Annabeth.

            Reyna clapped along to the music, her hands over her head until she started singing- her voice filled the entire bar, shocking almost everyone into silence. Annabeth’s jaw fell to the floor, and she was not one easily shocked- but her girlfriend had the most amazing singing voice. She sounded like she was born to sing up on that stage. And she commanded the audience too- almost dancing, but really kind of strutting around the stage. It was infectious- half the audience was now out of their seats and heading towards the stage to dance, or possibly just to get closer to Reyna.

            Reyna continued dancing, clapping, and strutting around the stage until the chorus came on. She spun around, her hair flying all around her and her eyes found Annabeth. The bar, the people singing along, even her friends disappeared, and the only thing that mattered was Reyna’s eyes on hers. They were only a few feet away, but as she belted out the chorus, the distance between them melted.

“You’re over my head

I’m out of my mind

Thinking I was born in the wrong time

One of a kind, living in a world gone plastic

Baby you’re so classic

Baby you’re so classic

Baby you,

Baby you’re so classic,”

            When Reyna turned again, Piper grabbed Annabeth’s hand and yanked her towards the stage, Jason and Percy not far behind. Thanks to a few “Excuse me, could we get by?”’s from Piper with some charm speak poured in, the four demigods made it directly in front and center of the stage.

            Annabeth stared up at the woman she loved, and she almost couldn’t believe that Reyna was singing to her. Piper had insisted on dressing them all up- but Reyna by far looked the most amazing. She left her long, black hair down for once, which reflected the lights from the stage, as did her shiny golden skinny jeans that Reyna had protested desperately, but Piper wouldn’t hear it (Annabeth didn’t even stick up for her girlfriend that much because they showed off her legs). Her shirt was a nice, dark purple tank top that was neither low cut or very tight, which Reyna appreciated, but it did have some sequins on it, which she didn’t appreciate. Her shoes was the main problem causer- smooth, almost the same color as her shirt-purple, with a two inch heel on the back. Reyna definitely didn’t need to be any taller, and she really didn’t want to wear them but Piper (possibly with some charm speak) finally got her to agree.

            She was so glad Piper made Reyna dress up, because on that stage she looked like a sexy rock goddess- literally more beautiful than any god or goddess Annabeth had every met (including Piper’s mom). Annabeth couldn’t help the cheer that came out of her mouth and despite the fact that it should’ve been lost in all the noise, Reyna spun around as soon the noise left Annabeth’s mouth.

            It took her a minute to find the now-moved group and in that time- Leo started rapping. Annabeth had totally forgotten he was up there, and about the rap part in the song that Reyna probably could have done, but Leo had a surprisingly great voice too. Even more amazing, Annabeth noticed for the first time as Reyna made her way over to them, was that neither Reyna nor Leo sounded or looking drunk at all. She didn’t even know how that was possible.

“Baby you’re class and baby you’re sick

I never met a girl like you ever til we met,”

Leo faded to the background as Reyna stood in front of her girlfriend, smiling down at Annabeth. She offered her hand and instantly Annabeth took it. She was unprepared for what happened next, as Reyna pulled on her hand and Annabeth was yanked up onto stage.

Annabeth was so not ready for this. There were so many people in the room, all of them staring up at the stage. Leo was now rapping at Annabeth, gesturing to her as he sang. Piper, Jason and Percy all yelled excitedly and encouragingly. She wasn’t quite sure what to do, until Reyna spun her around. That was all the encouragement she needed. Annabeth danced between Reyna and Leo as he finished his verse.

“A star in the 40s, centerfold in the 50s

Got me tripping out like the 60s

Hippie Queen of the discotheque

A 70s dream and an 80s best

Hepburn, Beyoncé, Marilyn, Massive

Girl you’re timeless, just so classic,”

            Both Leo and Reyna finished the final chorus together, both singing their hearts out to Annabeth in front of a huge crowd full of people. Piper, Jason and Percy all sang along in the front row. The music was so loud it seemed to be shaking the stage, though that might’ve been the weight of almost everyone in the bar jumping up and down with them.

“You’re over my head I’m out of my mind

Thinking I was born in the wrong time

It’s love on rewind,

Everything is so throwback-ish (I kinda like it, like it)

Out of my league

Old school chic

Like a movie star

From the silver screen

You’re on of a kind living in a world gone plastic

Baby you’re so classic

Baby you’re so classic

Baby you’re so classic,”

            When they finished, the entire bar erupted into cheers, and Annabeth’s heart was bursting with pride and happiness. Leo bowed and called out his ‘thank you’s’. Reyna didn’t even take a minute to bask- she grabbed Annabeth, and dipped her over before kissing her with all the passion she poured into that song. Annabeth grabbed her girlfriend’s face, pulling her closer and determined to never let go. Annabeth was suddenly glad that Jason had recorded the event- this was something she never wanted to forget.

            Piper, Percy, Jason and Leo whooped at their friends’ very public display of affection, or possibly at the 10’s that every judge in the bar was now holding up. Because it was obvious- Annabeth and Reyna together equaled a perfect 10.

#aww did i make you throw up at the cheeseyness of that last line #because i think i made myself #it was just too tempting to not write #im sorry #hoo #Heroes of Olympus #heroes of olympus fanfiction #hoo fanfic #reyna avila ramirez arellano #annabeth chase #reynabeth #reyna x annabeth #annabeth x reyna #karaoke night #karaoke fic #inspired by classic #leo valdez #percy jackson #jason grace #Piper McLean #also i keep havign trouble with indents at the start of a new paragraph #like i know theyre supposed to be there #but its not letting me put them in #only sometimes? #so just know that i know that they should be there #i know my basic grammar i promise

[slightlylessmediocre]

All Aboard Part 3

Dedicated to the Anon who wanted more. I honestly didn't know anyone was that interested, and then when I tried to go back I hit some massive writer's block so that's why it took so long after I got the message. But I pushed through for YOU, Anon so I hope you like it. And everyone else too. 

Part 1

Part 2

(Also the first line of this is funnier if you read the last line of part 2. In my opinion anyway.)

Nico

              Nico did not like Jason Grace. In fact, in this very moment, he hated Jason Grace. He agreed to sub for him because seeing him beaten up made Nico feel a little guilty. Part of it might have also been the fact that Jason was sweaty and shirtless and inside Nico’s bedroom. Jason had an annoyingly good body. It was hard to look at- and it was harder to not look at, which is what Nico was desperately trying to do.

But it didn’t take long to remember that Jason Grace could probably single handedly take down an army- he was faking. It took even less time to figure out why. It was the second thing that occurred to Nico as soon as he stepped out the door.

The first thing that occurred to Nico was that no matter what he did- and he had tried everything- he would never not be attracted to Percy Jackson. Especially when the idiot was shirtless and soaking wet. Percy must’ve pulled up some water and dumped it on himself because both his jeans and hair were dripping. He was also standing in the middle of the deck giggling and moving his hands- chasing Annabeth and Piper around with streams of water. They laughed and ran around the deck, causing an adequate distraction to allow Nico to stare openly at Percy and not be questioned.

Nico shouldn’t be surprised that Percy had a good body- honestly, it came with the territory. Even Nico, who would never admit to this on the pain of death followed by millions of years in the fields of punishment, took slight pride in his physique. But Percy…. Percy’s body was one that he would judge all others on forever. Yes, Jason had been impressive and all, but Percy was taller and thinner- which meant that his muscles really stood out. His pectorals were definite and shaper, and his stomach looked hard with almost six-pack abs. His hips bones were sharp and defined, as were his collarbones. His arms were curved with muscles, all the way down to his forearms. Nico had a thing for arms. Percy’s arms especially. His mouth felt dry looking at him.

That’s when it occurred to Nico that Jason had brought him out here on purpose. When he managed to pull his eyes off Percy, he glowered up at Jason, who was infuriatingly taller than him (unfortunately so was Percy, but Nico was taller than everyone else HA). Jason gave him an apologetic shrug that looked sincere, as if he was just realizing how attractive shirtless Percy was, and he had brought Nico out to face that. Thanks, Jason.

Percy spun around to chase Annabeth with a particularly large amount of water, but when his eyes met Nico’s and he dropped the water. Smooth. Way to show me your surprise. Nico rolled his eyes, partly because Percy was an idiot and partly to break his connection with those sea green eyes that made his stomach feel tight and warm and nervous all at the same time.

Nico wanted to kick himself. Or Jason. Or Percy.

“Nico agreed to help!” Jason said cheerfully, clapping a hand on Nico’s shoulder and successfully breaking the awkward and sudden silence that had fallen when everyone noticed Nico- a reaction he was used to.

“Really?” Percy asked, a small smile on his lips and a hopeful light in his eye.

“Yes.” Jason said, giving Nico a not-so-gentle shove towards the group.

“Cool!” Percy grinned. “We were just taking a break but we’re ready when you are.” He told Nico.

“Okay.” Nico paused. It was awfully hot outside and he didn’t want to be the only one with a shirt on- a black long-sleeve shirt nonetheless. To Hades with it. He shrugged off his shirt and threw it near a pile of other discarded clothes. Nico wasn’t embarrassed by his body- he had some definite arm muscles and hard chest too, but under the scrutinizing gazes of Jason and Percy, he suddenly felt very weak, and very pale. He ran a hand through his mess of black hair in attempt to shake off both the awkwardness, and the shadows that had begun to cling to him.

He grabbed his sword and spun it around a little. “Well? I was promised violence and bloodshed.” He said, slightly irritated that everyone was still staring at him with an open mouth.

And then- Percy laughed. Out loud, at one of Nico’s jokes. Maybe this could be fun.

  “Nico- duck!” Percy yelled. Nico ducked immediately just as Annabeth’s knife swung right over his head. It clashed with Riptide, making a disturbing sound of metal scraping on bone. Annabeth eased off immediately, and somewhere in the back of Nico’s mind he wondered if Annabeth would have cut him that slack. But he shouldn’t need it- he didn’t need it.

Percy pushed her away just as Piper went in for another stab at Percy. Nico, without thinking about it, kicked the knife out of Piper’s hand. It clattered to the ground and Piper groaned.

 “Point- the boys.” Hazel said, smiling. “Nice one, Nico.” She sat on the steps that led up to the helm, keeping score and occasionally calling a time out if things got too intense.

Nico half-smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“What’s the score, Hazel?” Annabeth asked, panting slightly.

“Six-two, advantage boys.”

“Wow.” Jason, who was sitting a few steps above Hazel, raised his eyebrows. “Seems like Nico and Percy make a good team.”

Nico narrowed his eyes at Jason, but he felt some blood rush into his cheeks. If anyone noticed, hopefully they would think it was the sun.

Percy smiled. “I’ll say, dude.” He bumped Nico’s back with the flat of his sword.

“Well I’m feeling beat, both emotionally and physically. And I wouldn’t mind having some lunch.” Annabeth suggested, putting her knife down.

“Yeah, I’m suddenly craving tofurkey and I have no idea why.” Piper agreed.

“Tofurkey?” Hazel repeated, looking so lost Nico almost laughed- not out of rudeness, but out of understanding. When he was suddenly in the 21st century, things were a little confusing too. Sometimes they still were.

Jason laughed, bounding down the steps and wrapping his arm around Piper. “Let’s get you some of that interesting food. You can even try it if you’d like Hazel,” He added, looking back at her. “Though, something tells me you won’t like it. Because no one except Piper does.”

“Some people like it!” Piper protested.

“Hey, you know I have no problem with vegetarians. Its just… tofurkey? Really?”

Piper and Jason headed towards the mess, with a slightly uncertain looking Hazel trailing behind.

Nico was alone on the deck with Annabeth and Percy. If there were a more awkward situation on the planet, Nico definitely didn’t want to be in that situation ever. Annabeth looked between the two boys quickly before slowly beginning to inch towards the door.

“Nice fighting today, Nico.” She sort of smiled, but it looked more like a grimace.

“Thanks.” He muttered, mostly out of obligation.

“No problem. Ah, Percy do you want to-?” She gestured towards the door. It was one of the few times Nico had ever seen Annabeth act awkward, although the other times were also around him. Nico figured he just made everyone feel uncomfortable, which was fine by him. The less people bothering him the better.

Percy hesitated. “You go ahead, Annabeth. I’ll be down in a second.” Both Nico and Annabeth looked at Percy in surprise, both frowning slightly.

“Okay.” Annabeth finally said before slipping below deck. Then it was just Nico and Percy, alone on the deck.

Nico was tempted to jump overboard. Of course if he did that Percy would have to save him because A) he was the only other one around and B) son of the sea god and all that. The last thing Nico wanted was to be rescued by Percy Jackson- especially a shirtless, soaking wet, extremely strong, in-his-element Percy Jackson. Nico forced himself to stop thinking about it.

Standing a few feet away- further than normal conversation distance- Percy was scratching the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. “Your sword fighting has really improved, Nico.” He offered finally.

“Well, fighting for your life tends to do that.” Nico replied.

“We worked well together.” Percy added, taking a step forward. As he did, Nico took a step back, and bumped into the railing. He looked over the side, and the idea of jumping didn’t seem too bad. The Mediterranean water was so blue, and the sun was so hot. But no- it would be embarrassing to explain why exactly he jumped.

“We did.” Nico finally allowed.

Percy sighed, dropping his hand from his neck and taking a few more steps toward Nico. “Look, Nico, I know you hate me because of what happened to Bianca,” Nico flinched at the name, still staring determinedly at the water. “But she was my friend too, and I know that’s nothing compared to your relationship with her, but it’s not like she was some random person I let willingly die. I will never forgive myself for Bianca.” He sighed again. “So I guess I understand if you can’t either.”

Nico opened his mouth to protest, to say that it wasn’t that- or at least not entirely that, but he couldn’t find his voice.

“But we’re on the same team. I mean, look how good we did today fighting together- and you don’t even want to help me!” Percy made a sound that might have been an attempt at a laugh. “Imagine how much better we’ll be if we can all get along. If we actually want to save the other person from dying.”

“I don’t want you to die, Percy.” Nico said quietly.

Percy opened his mouth and closed it again, thoroughly taken aback. “You don’t?”

“Believe it or not, I’m not the terrible ghost king, son of Hades that everyone thinks I am, forever looking to expand my army of undead.” Nico deadpanned, frowning at Percy. “I’m a person, with some feelings, and an understanding of friendship and team work. I have more than the two “friend-or-I-want-this-person-dead” settings. I mean you hate Octavian, but does that mean you want him to die?”

“Well….” Percy hesitated, but he grinned so Nico knew he was most likely joking.

Nico’s lips turned to a smile just for a moment before it disappeared. The expression seemed to have shocked Percy, but Nico continued. “But you know what I mean.”

“I do.” Percy said when he recovered from the surprise of making Nico smile. “And you know what I mean too, right?”

“I’ll work with you, Jackson. Just don’t expect me to be happy about it.” Nico said.

Percy smiled his full, blinding smile, which forced Nico to look away again.

“I should…” Nico gestured toward the door, slowly backing away towards it.

“Of course.” Percy grinned. “And thank you,” He bowed. “Your Majesty, Ghost King and son of Hades, for your audience.” Percy’s shoulders were shaking with laughter, but Nico turned bright red and practically ran away- it was going to take him years to remove the image of Percy bowing to him from his brain.

  Percy

After Nico (rather quickly) disappeared below deck, Percy walked over to the rail where he had been standing at and peered over. Nico had spent so much of their conversation looking at the water; Percy had started to wonder if there was something down there. If there was before, there wasn’t now.

At least, not for a moment. Then two water nymphs appeared nearby. They were giggling, which made Percy nervous. Normally, nymphs were friendly and flirty- completely harmless (unless your girlfriend caught you flirting with them). But lately, Percy had met a few nymphs that completely warped his original idea of the fun-loving, innocent and sweet nymph.

“What’s so funny?” He asked the nymphs, who seemed to find the question even more amusing.

They laughed harder. One of them, the one that looked slightly younger (how? Percy didn’t know. She just did.) spoke up. “You really don’t know, do you?” She asked in a singsong voice.

“Know what?” Percy asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. Hostility never worked on nymphs.

“You really don’t know how he feels-“

The other nymph elbowed her before she could finish. “Don’t tell him!” She warned. “It’s none of our business!”

“What isn’t?” This time Percy’s tone did sound a little annoyed.

They both giggled again before disappeared into the water.

Percy hated being the last one to know things- and it was starting to feel like everyone in the world knew something he didn’t. 

#hoo #hoo fanfic #Heroes of Olympus #heroes of olympus fanfiction #fanfiction #percy jackson #nico di angelo #percico #sort of? #i mean def from nico's pov #yay i hope everyone likes it #also as per usual if you find any grmatical errors TELL ME OH MY GODS ITS SO EMBARASSING #ON MY LAST FIC I ACCIDENTLY WROTE BATH INSTEAD OF BOTH #I WANT TO DIE #i mean i fixed it #BUT STILL #PEOPLE READ THAT #so please tell me

[slightlylessmediocre]

Demigod road trip: Stop 1

(So this will eventually turn into a bunch of stand-alone fics that are only semi-connected by the fact that our beloved heroes are road tripping it but I haven't mentioned that yet so... just pretend. This bar is based off a real one in upstate New York. 

Also I totally killed Annabeth in my last fic because I wanted Percico but then I remembered I love Annabeth and I also love Reyna so that happened. So it's Percico and then its Reynabeth, who I've never wrote before so tell me how I did.

Whoops long explantion. I feel like i need to do that though as like an apology for my terrible writing? Okay for real fic starting RIGHT EFFING NOW)

"Remind me exactly how you have fake ID's for all of us, Percy?" Annabeth frowned disapprovingly at him.

Percy rolled his eyes. He and Annabeth may have long since stopped dating, but she still acted like his judgmental girlfriend sometimes. "Always good to be prepared." Percy replied in a poor imitation of her voice. It was something she used to say to him.

Nico frowned, uncomfortably glancing between his boyfriend and his boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.  He disliked when they shared moments like this. He glanced at Reyna, who looked at him empathically. Percy and Annabeth assured their new significant others that they were completely uninterested in each other, they still had a history that was beyond Nico and Reyna.

"How did you even get this picture of me, Percy? I have never given you any pictures of me." Reyna frowned at the ID Percy handed her. It wasn't a bad picture, but it did look official- white background, with Reyna frowning at the camera disapprovingly. It was definitely her.

"Just, just, just, just- okay? Just?" Percy looked exasperated.

"Sorry, what was that?" Leo asked. "Just what?"

Percy narrowed his eyes at Leo. Nico put a hand on his shoulder. "How about we get some alcohol?" He suggested. There was a grumbling consent as they walked toward the counter.

  The view from the outside balcony was incredible. It overlooked one of the Finger Lakes (though no one was quite sure which), the mountains rolling all around and the sun slowly setting behind them. Unfortunately, it was also fairly crowded- both locals and tourists alike come to watch the sunset. The group spread out, trying to find seats in among the crowd.

Nico and Percy were the first to find two open seats at a table, near a group consisting of a few 20-30 year olds, one holding a baby. They saw Percy and Nico looking around and offered to make room. Nico wasn't interested, but Percy agreed immediately, walking over with a smile.

"So where are you guys from?" The woman with the baby asked. She was a pretty brunette with a long nose and bright eyes. The baby didn't look much like her, with a small nose that turned up at the end and blue eyes.

"New York City." Percy replied. "How about you all?"

"Maryland. Our cousin is getting married in the vineyard that our grandfather used to own, actually."

"Wow, that's really cool!" Percy said, sounding legitimately interested. Nico almost rolled his eyes. "I can’t imagine why he would sell any land around here, it’s so beautiful."

"Isn't it? Its great to be back. Plus this little guy has never seen it." She bounced the baby on her knee.

Percy beamed at the small child. "What's his name?" He asked.

"Alex." The woman smiled. "And I'm Katie. I don't know if we went over that."

Percy laughed. "No, I guess we didn't. I'm Percy, and this is my boyfriend Nico." He gestured at Nico proudly like, Can you believe I locked that up?

Nico resisted the urge to punch Percy in the stomach- just because their friends were accepting didn't mean everyone was. Nico still wasn't used to the fact that most people were. But introducing Nico as his boyfriend? That seemed... Sudden.

But Katie just smiled. "Nice to meet you two. Nico," She raised her eyebrows. "What an uncommon name."

"Yeah, he's old fashioned." Percy chuckled, but obviously Katie didn't get the joke, and ignored it.

"Seems like he likes you." She said after a moment of silence. Everyone looked down at baby Alex. He was staring at Percy with wide eyes and an almost smile. His arms reached over toward him, but couldn't quite reach. "You wanna hold him?" Katie asked. Nico idly wondered how many beers she had in her to offer this child to a stranger.

"Sure!" Percy reached over pulled Alex into his lap. Alex giggled in delight as Percy made funny faces, enough that even Nico cracked a smile.

But Alex grew quickly disinterested in Percy. His new fascination was Nico. He stared determinedly at him, reaching out and making tiny little grunts whenever Nico looked at him. It took Percy a minute to catch on.

"I think Alex wants you to hold him." He noted.

"Hmm." Nico replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is that alright, Katie?" Percy asked her.

"Sure!" She smiled. Nico was pretty sure she hadn't actually heard the question, and probably would have refused if she did.

Percy turned back to his boyfriend. "Here." He started to pick up Alex.

"Percy, no!" Nico leaned away.

"Why not?" Percy pouted, Alex suspended between them, still reaching for Nico.

"You know living things don't like me!" Nico hissed.

"This baby seems to like you! Come on- just for a minute!"

"No."

"He'll get bored of you anyway, and then I'll take him back." Percy carefully maneuvered both Nico's arms and his panicked protests before setting the child down on his lap.

Alex was stood on Nico’s lap so they were almost at the same height. Nico held him by the waist carefully so that he wouldn’t fall over. Alex reached up tugged on Nico’s hair before giggling with delight. Nico smiled at the kid holding him carefully so he didn’t fall over. Percy caught himself thinking that Nico would make a great dad one day.

  Across the deck, Annabeth and Reyna had yet to find somewhere to sit- but they did find some interesting conversation partners- a couple from Austria on their first visit to America. Reyna had asked them where their accents were from, which is how the conversation got started- but somehow they ended up talking about the theory of dark matter, which is when Reyna got lost. It was a topic that had most recently captured Annabeth’s attention and imagination, so it was really no surprise that she brought it up in a conversation with complete strangers.  It was a surprise though, that this couple knew just as much as Annabeth did. When Reyna noted as much, the woman, Olga, explained. “I met Lukas through mutual friends while we were attending University in England. He went to Cambridge, and I to Oxford. They are some of the world’s best universities I believe, so we are well educated. Especially on space, which is the one subject we were both equally passionate about.  Olga smiled at her husband, Lukas.

“But Annabeth is very knowledgeable for someone so young.” Lukas added, smiling.

“Well when Annabeth gets interested in a topic, not much else matters.” Reyna smiled fondly at her girlfriend, tucking a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“Except you.” Annabeth argued.

“Except me.” Reyna agreed. She turned back to the couple. “She’ll go on for hours about the new things she’s learned to me. I think my IQ had raised quite a bit since we started dating.” Annabeth, Olga and Lukas laughed.

It didn’t take long for Annabeth to launch back into the topic. Reyna tried to pay attention, but she kept getting distracted by the same reasons she never minded Annabeth go on for hours about the things she loved. Annabeth would lean slightly more forward then she would in a regular conversation. Her gray eyes would grow wide and bright. Her mouth was always curved ever so slightly upward, even if she was talking about a theory that was troubling her, and the volume of her voice would go higher and higher until she finally shouted something, which is when she did another one of Reyna’s favorite things- clamp her hand over her mouth and whip her head around to make sure she wasn’t bothering anyone. When she continued it would be in an excited whisper.

Reyna loved the times when Annabeth got excited about a new topic. She loved getting distracted by Annabeth’s excitement habits as she spoke. She liked playing with Annabeth’s hair, her head in Reyna’s lap, while she gesticulated widely. She even loved the times Annabeth would bring up new topics while they were making out, although maybe not in the moment.

And she wasn’t joking- Reyna now knew more about hundreds of random topics then previously thought humanly possible. She loved that too. Despite the fact that Annabeth was definitely smarted than her (because Annabeth was smarter than everyone), she never made Reyna felt stupid. Annabeth made Reyna feel like the girl she always presented herself as, only now there was no underlying worry or guilt or sadness. Annabeth took that all away.

Reyna looked over and spotted Jason and Piper not to far away. Piper was sitting on the railing and despite the two-story drop below her, she looked completely at ease- though it probably helps when your boyfriend can fly. Jason was standing beside her, looking over the valley. Reyna could see his mouth moving, but whatever he was talking about must not have captured Piper’s attention completely. She looked over and spotted Reyna before smiling and rolling her eyes. Reyna smiled back, moving her head slightly in Annabeth’s direction before rolling her eyes back. Piper’s smile widened before she turned back to Jason.

Any tension between Reyna and Piper had completely vanished when Piper was sure she was over Jason. It helped that Reyna started dating one of Piper’s best friends, because they were almost forced to spend time together. Without the threat of stealing boyfriends around, they became fast friends as well. Annabeth, Piper and Reyna together was always a good time- though Piper also tended to insist on having Hazel around for when Annabeth and Reyna got too couple-y. (Everyone else loved having Hazel around too, of course, but she seemed to spend more time with the guys.)

Reyna turned back to her girlfriend, determined to pay attention.

#hoo #hoo fanfic #Heroes of Olympus #heroes of olympus fanfiction #percico #reynabeth #percy jackson #Nico di Angelo #annabeth chase #reyna avila ramirez arellano #percy x nico #reyna x annabeth

[slightlylessmediocre]

Percico Ficlets

Just a few, mostly unrelated. (The first one was inspired by a Viria drawing and the third one was inspired by a text post that talked about how children of Iris could change color of things when they touched them BUT I CANT FIND EITHER ONE OF THOSE THINGS AGAIN so if someone finds them can you message me so I can link to them okay thank you)

The evening he found out, Percy wasn’t quite sure what to say or do, but he felt like he should say something. Annabeth wasn’t any help on this front- she wasn’t mad, but Percy figured she felt as awkward about this situation as she did.

            Percy still wasn’t sure what to say, but he found himself standing a few feet behind Nico, who was sitting on one of the hills overlooking the ocean. It was one of Percy’s favorite spots too.

            He stood behind Nico quietly, wondering if it was too late to turn around. Then Nico spoke. “You’re the last person I want to talk to, you know.” He muttered bitterly.

            Percy sighed quietly. Nut up, Jackson. He went forward and sat down next to Nico at a respectful distance- right outside the darkness that seemed to be clinging to Nico. “I know.”

            Percy and Nico sat together in silence, watching the ocean.

   ___________________________________________________________________

            Percy didn’t see Nico for a while- until Annabeth’s funeral. He didn’t expect Nico to be there, no one did. Hazel had sent word to him, more of an FYI than an invitation.

            Percy watched the viewing in silence from his seat as each one of Annabeth’s friends and family members paid their respects. But he couldn’t move. He was glued to his seat, not ready for the last time he would see Annabeth. He wiped his eyes as the line of people waiting came to an end, and was confused when he was Nico standing over Annabeth. When Nico finally turned around, he wiped his face quickly before heading to the back.

            Percy didn’t give it much thought until he saw Nico again a few days later, sitting by the bonfire. The whole camp was quiet, as it had been for the last few days. Annabeth’s absence weighed heavily on everyone.

            Percy sat down on the bench next to his bench. “Thank you for coming.” He said quietly.

            Nico just nodded, and they stayed quiet for a few minutes. Surprisingly, it was Nico who broke the silence. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked me yet, Percy.”

            “Asked you what?”

            “To bring her back. Talk to her ghost. If she’s okay. Where she ended up in the Underworld. One or all of the above.” Nico replied, turning to look at Percy. He didn’t look mocking, just sort of tired.

            “It hadn’t occurred to me.” Percy said, and it actually hadn’t. Probably because, well, “Annabeth probably wouldn’t want me to bring her back. And I don’t want to force you to go to the Underworld for me.”

            Nico nodded, turning back to the low, blue flames. “I am positive, and you should take this seriously because I know a lot about the Underworld, that Annabeth is in Elysium.”

            Percy tried to smile, but couldn’t quite remember how. “Thank you.” He whispered, his voice breaking slightly.

            Nico nodded again and stood up. He walked a few steps away before stopping. “I am sorry about Annabeth, Percy. She was a really amazing person. You guys… you guys were really good together.” Nico hesitated again, and then turned and walked away, leaving Percy to stare at the purple flames.

 ___________________________________________________________________

              It was almost a year after Annabeth had died before Nico showed up again. In retrospect, Percy wasn’t sure if it was because he just wasn’t feeling it or because Nico seemed to be actively avoiding Percy or possibly ‘keeping a respectful distance’, which is what Hazel suggested when Percy asked why he was never around.

            But Nico came back to Camp Half Blood for Hazel’s birthday. Frank had this extremely elaborate surprise party planned, and Percy and Nico had been drafted to help set up. They were walking to the pavilion in silence. They had chatted a little about where Nico had been and what Percy had been doing.

            They were almost there when Percy saw something in the corner of his eye. Faster than Percy thought possible, Jerry and Jennifer, two new campers and children of Iris, ran over to Nico. They slammed their hands into his chest.

“Hey!” Percy yelled, but they sprinted back towards the woods, their brightly colored clothes disappearing quickly. Percy was confused as to why they would almost start a fight and run away. Children of Iris were never really great at confrontation, but still….

And then Percy turned back around. Nico was standing there, looking both completely bewildered and completely pissed- which was a feat. His eyes were wide, but his eyebrows narrowed. His arms were outstretched slightly, his chest puffed out and he stared at Percy in horror- because what used to be Nico’s black leather jacket, black tee-shirt and black skinny jeans were now… not black. His jacket was bright red, his shirt electric purple and his jeans were aqua blue.

Percy burst into laughter. And he literally could not stop- the combination of his clothes and his expression was priceless.

Nico glowered at him. “Percy!” He yelled, sounding thoroughly betrayed. “Stop laughing!”

“I’m- I’m sorry!” Percy managed through his laughter. He doubled over, clutching at his stomach.

Nico tried to keep glaring at him, but with Percy’s infectious laugh he couldn’t help but smile. Soon he was grinning ear to ear and then, when Nico just couldn’t hold it in anymore, he joined Percy in laughing.

Percy almost stopped laughing he was so surprised at the noise of pure happiness coming out of Nico. It was such a strange combination of things happening- Nico in bright clothes, Nico smiling, Nico laughing this happy, borderline musical laugh that kept Percy laughing along side him. 

Nico ended up wearing the clothes to Hazel’s party, and the group had another good laugh. (Percy was somewhat relieved to realize that everyone was shocked when Nico laughed, it wasn’t just him.) Jason and Leo began planning an elaborate revenge prank on the Iris cabin, which Nico and Percy were just happy to listen to, though for certain they would join in when it actually went down.

Then Nico did something else unexpected. “Hey Percy, what’s that on your cake?” He asked.

Percy frowned, leaning closer to his cake when Nico pushed Percy’s head down the rest of the way, almost his entire face now covered in cake. Nico burst into laughter, almost falling off the bench they were sitting on.

“Ha, ha.” Percy said sarcastically, though he couldn’t help but smile. He was pretty sure that Nico’s laugh could cure cancer- of course he would smile when he heard it.

“Now we’re even, Jackson.” Nico told him, wiping a tear from his face and still grinning.

“Even?” Percy demanded. “What? How?!”

“You just stood there when Jerry and Jennifer ruined my clothes! You could be considered an accomplice.” He replied in a smug voice.

Percy opened his mouth to respond when Piper called out, “Percy, do you want some more cake with your face?”

The whole group laughed again. Percy stuttered out a “Nico did it!” But that just earned Nico congratulations from the whole table.

Percy wiped some frosting on his face and wiped it onto Nico’s nose. “Hey!” He protested, but he was still laughing.

“Now we’re even.” Percy grinned.

           _____________________________________________________________

              The morning after their first time together, Percy woke up to an empty bed, but he was confident(ish) that Nico hadn’t disappeared again, but rather wanted to get out of his cabin before any of the other campers woke up and saw him.

            Percy was still totally fine with what happened last night, despite how Nico kept telling him he might regret it in the morning. He was fine of course… until he stood up. That’s exactly when he realized how sore he was. Percy was sore. Percy Jackson. He had to limp around his cabin to get ready.

            When he left his cabin, he was trying his hardest to look like he was Most Definitely Not Limping. He Most Definitely Not Limped to the pavilion, which is where he saw Nico, sitting as far away from where he entered as possible. When Nico noticed him he raised his eyebrows and smirked at Percy, clearly trying not to laugh, the little shit.

            Percy made his way slowly around the tables, grabbing a goblet that immediately filled with orange juice, when Grover came up behind him. “Hey, Percy!”

            “Augh!” Percy jumped, trying not to yell.

            “Whoa, are you alright?” Grover laughed and then immediately, “Oh seriously, are you alright? It seems like you’re limping.”

            “No!” Percy said quickly and took another few steps away.

            “Yeah you are. Was it capture the flag?”

            “I’m not limping!” Percy insisted, finally arriving at the table where his friends sat. They all watched him limp over and sit down next to Nico.

“Looks like you took a pretty hard pounding last night, huh?” Jason asked. Percy almost choked on his orange juice. Beside him Nico looked like it was taking ever ounce of self-control in the world not to burst into laughter. He sat completely still, staring at the table with wide eyes and biting his lower lip, as if it would help his mouth stop quirking up into a smile. 

#hoo #heroes of olympus #percico #percy jackson #nico di angelo #percy x nico #nico x percy #ficlet #heroes of olympus fanfiction #hoo fanfic

[slightlylessmediocre]

All Aboard pt 2

Part 1

PART 2:

Percy

After Percy spent the night trying to charm the news out of some Mediterranean water nymphs, he slumped into bed early. Annabeth must have decided to let him sleep, because he woke up the next morning at what he estimated was about eleven.

            Percy wandered out of his room and into the mess area in the clothes he fell asleep in, which was just his jeans because he had managed to wrestle off his shirt before collapsing. The mess was empty, except for Frank who was seemed to be falling asleep into a bowl of Cheerio’s. Percy sort of laughed before going for a bowl of his own. Frank must have woken up shortly after Percy went to bed, because he was in charge of the night shift. Percy filled up his bowl with Cheerio’s and blue milk before smacking it down on the table.

            Frank jolted awake, blinking rapidly. Percy smirked and sat down at the table across from him. “Morning, Frank.”

            Frank rubbed his eyes. “Is it?” He muttered.

            “For me, but I guess not so much for you. How’d the shift go?” Percy asked before stuffing his mouth with cereal.

            “Fine.” Frank yawned. “No disturbance.”

            “Good.” Percy kept shoveling food into his mouth.

            Percy didn’t think he knew Frank very well or any of them, really. That’s what he had thought, but his recent trip to Tartarus proved otherwise because while he and Annabeth went through hell and back below the surface, his crew went through the same above the surface. He knew it would be dangerous for them, but he never knew the full extent of the terrors they faced. Yet when they finally resurfaced, everyone was so happy and relieved to see them. They hugged and cried and swapped tales. Percy never realized how much the crew depended on him, how much people looked up to him. He was still surprised about the stories Annabeth told him when he went missing the first time- how all Camp Half Blood was concerned by his disappearance, and they all stopped everything to look for him. Percy knew he was at least semi-important after the Titan War, but it’s not like he single-handedly won the war. It’s not like he rebuilt the city afterwards, or Olympus or Camp Half Blood. He was just Percy. Just Percy, who was supposed to go back to high school in September (ugh) and who would have nothing to write about in his What I Did Over Summer Break essay without sounding certifiably insane.

            But things had changed. He was starting to realize that maybe he was important, maybe he was relevant. Maybe there was even a part of Percy worth fighting for. And he had his crew to thank for the fact that he was still alive. His crew had fought hard for him, who put value in him before he saw it there himself. They were closer now. The walls that were separating them, whatever they were, had completely disappeared. They weren’t Romans and Greeks or children of the prophecy anymore- they were friends.

            And even if Percy was a little slow to it, he could tell when something was wrong with his friend. He finished chewing and swallowed before asking, “What’s wrong, Frank?”

            “Nothing.” Frank said- too quickly. Percy just raised his eyebrow and waited. Frank sighed. “It’s just… I’m a praetor. A praetor of New Rome.”

            Percy cocked his head to the side. “Something wrong with that?”

            “I’ve never been in charge of anything. My predecessor was Jason Grace.” Frank looked truly distressed.

            “Jason is your friend.” Percy pointed out.

            “He’s also Mr. Perfect. And I’m his replacement. The last time New Rome saw me, I was just a screw up in the 12th legion.” He sighed into his bowl.

            “And now you’re a kickass soldier, son of Are- er, Mars, who can control an army of dead ghosts and shape shift into any animal you want! I don’t think even Octavian could argue with your promotion.” Percy encouraged. They both knew that last part was a lie- Octavian could argue against world peace, and probably make it sound convincing too- but it seemed to make Frank feel better regardless.

            “Maybe you’re right.” Frank mused, before stifling another yawn.

            “There’s a reason Jason chose you, Frank. And it wasn’t just because you were handy. There’s also a reason Jason couldn’t control those ghosts and you could. I think Jason was as right to step down as he was to promote you up.” Percy argued before standing. He put his bowl in the sink and went over to pat Frank on the shoulder. “You should get some sleep, man. You never know when we’ll need those mad skills of yours.”

            Frank sort of laughed. “Mad skills. Right. Thanks, Percy.” He added, in a much more sincere tone.

            Percy smiled as he head toward the door that lead to the main deck. “What are friends for?”

            He stepped outside, blinking and letting his eyes readjust to the bright day. As soon as he was able to see, he saw a blade flying towards him- one that would’ve embedded itself in his neck had he not ducked. He looked up slowly to see that it was Katoptris, Piper’s dagger. “Um?” Percy said loudly, glaring at the knife.

            Piper came running over from across the deck, apologies spilling out of her mouth. “Oh my gods, Percy I am so, so sorry! Are you okay? Thank the gods you ducked!”

            “Yeah,” Percy ran a hand through his hair, making sure it was all still there. “Yeah, everything seems to be intact.”

            Piper looked relieved as she went to pull the knife out of the board above his head. “Again, I’m so sorry.”

            “Why are you throwing knives around the deck, again?” Percy asked, stepping a few feet away.

            “We’re practicing and I was aiming for Jason, I swear.”

            “Oh right.” Percy said sarcastically. “That’s much clearer, thanks.”

            She laughed. “I mean not at Jason, just in his direction. He’s actually the one practicing. But I sort of… missed.”

            “Hey, Seaweed Brain!” Annabeth yelled from across the boat. “We could actually use some help training, if you’re not too tired?” The question was yelled out in a cocky voice, but Percy knew Annabeth well enough to hear the worry running underneath it. Annabeth had been worrying about Percy’s health ever since they returned from Tartartus- just as Percy had been worrying about her health.  They both seemed to be fine though, and Nico had told them that there shouldn’t be any last effects- unless they seriously screwed up down there. He cautioned them to be careful and to at least attempt avoiding trouble, at least for a little while. Percy had joked that trouble was in love with him, because it was always following him around. Nico just looked away, like he couldn’t stand Percy’s jokes even more then he couldn’t stand Percy. Percy knew why this kid hated him so much, but he was determined to try and change that. It would be nice if he were friends with everyone on the crew, including Nico.

            “You know me,” Percy finally replied to Annabeth, smiling at her in attempt to make her feel better. “Always ready for a practice fight where no one can actually hurt me.”

              Things had gone from practice fighting to all out war pretty fast. It was definitely Annabeth’s fault, who “accidently” cut Percy’s upper arm. That’s when Leo dropped out with (“Um, if there’s going to be real blood spill I need to mental prepare myself for at least 5-6 days in advance.”).

            “It’s a good thing I’m not wearing a shirt, or you would owe me a new shirt.” Percy frowned at his arm, examining the cut. It wasn’t deep, and it only kind of stung, but still.

            “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” Piper asked, here eyes determinedly glued to the Percy’s face.

            Percy shrugged. “I didn’t put one on this morning.”

            “Good answer.” Jason said, and he looked like he meant it. He frowned thoughtfully before lifting his arm and smelling his armpit. The look on his face said it all- and explained why he stripped off his shirt and threw it towards the wall of the ship. “Much better.” He grinned.

            Both Piper and Annabeth stared at Jason’s chest with their mouths slightly open. Percy frowned at his girlfriend before turning to Jason to see what they were gaping at. Jason and Percy had a similar build- but while Percy was slightly taller, Jason was slightly buffer. His shoulders were slightly broader, his abs slightly more defined and his arms slightly more muscular. With his tanned skin and his blonde hair and blue eyes- well, Percy could understand what the girls were staring at. But that didn’t mean he had to appreciate. Percy cleared his throat loudly, and Annabeth jumped, ripping her gaze from Jason.

            For a while they played shirts vs. skins- and then Annabeth took her shirt off. She was wearing a black sports bra underneath, so it’s not like she was exposing more skin than Percy had ever seen- but it was still a nice view. It was kind of funny though because when she stood next to Jason they looked like they could almost be brother and sister- and like real brother and sister, not demigod siblings. They both had the almost exact same shade of golden blonde hair, but Annabeth’s was long and curly, like an angel. They shared the same slightly tanned skin and toned physique. But Annabeth had stormy grey eyes that Percy loved so much.

            Piper’s shirt soon followed, revealing her neon pink sports bra underneath. Piper may try to hide her beauty as much as possible, but it was undeniable that she had a good body- one that Percy Definitely Did Not Notice. Then it was the girls, in their sports bras and jean short shorts versus the boys in their jeans. The breeze off the water kept them cool but the sun kept them from getting too cold.

            Percy wasn’t sure when the fighting went from playful to intense, but it did happen. Eventually the taunting turned to shouting, the clinks of the swords turned to crashing sharp metal, glinting in the sunlight. Percy would have liked to call it off and say it was unnecessary, but the kind of sword fighting where someone could actually get hurt was the only kind that ever happened in a real situation.

            Plus it’s not like anyone was getting seriously hurt. Well, anyone except for Jason who seemed to be kind of off it today. He wasn’t as fast as he normally was, and he kept letting Annabeth and Piper cut him up. He was covered in a surprising amount of blood and bruises, to the point where Percy was getting kind of concerned- both for his health, and his fighting skills that seemed to have mostly disappeared.

            Finally Jason took a few steps out of the ‘ring’ and sort of slumped over, breathing heavily.

            “Jason?” Piper put down her sword immediately and moved toward him. “Are you okay?”

            “Yeah, I’m just a little tired.” He panted. “And bruised.” He winced as he straightened up again.

            Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look of concern- since they had gotten back, and as the oldest since Coach Hedge was gone; they had defaulted to the sort of parents in the group. “Are you sure, Jason?” Annabeth asked.

            “Do you need some water?” Percy added.

            “I’m fine, guys really.” Jason insisted. “I’m just gonna take a break if that’s okay?”

            “That’s fine.” Annabeth agreed.

            “Except now Percy doesn’t have a partner.” Piper frowned. “Maybe Frank….” He trailed off.

            “No, Frank is asleep.” Jason said quickly. “But maybe Nico could use some practice.”

            “He probably could.” Percy agreed. “If you think you could get him to fight along side me.”

            Jason rolled his eyes. “I’m sure I’ll get him to agree.”

Jason

Jason walked slower than normal to Nico’s room. Though his plan seemed to be working so far, it didn’t come without its pains. He had to act slower, weaker, and let the girls kick his ass a little in order to pull this off. It wasn’t as hard as he thought it might be, at least not the latter part, anyway. Even if he was at full strength, Jason was pretty sure Annabeth could destroy him and it was clear that after a while she stared to ease up on purpose. Piper had gotten surprisingly good at sword fighting since the last time they sparred. It had never been her strong suit, but working with Hazel seemed to be helping a lot more than the few times Jason tried to teach her. It made sense that she and Hazel, with their similar size and strength, would have similar styles of fighting, relying more on speed rather than brute force which is what he had tried (and failed) to teach her. But it was definitely working for Piper, and Jason had a few cuts on his body to prove it.

            They were really starting to get into things- really starting to have fun- when Jason had to drop out. It was at this point that he knew that neither the girls nor Percy would just want to leave it, so they would have to find someone else. Thankfully, Frank was still asleep and Leo didn’t seem too keen on getting cut up when he wasn’t fighting for his life. Go figure.

            That left one option- Nico. And Jason wasn’t exactly trying to set up Percy and Nico or anything, but fighting side by side with someone, even if it was just for practice, changes the way you are around each other. It builds trust and almost defaults into a friendship. If Nico learned how to stop hating Percy, that would be great. It would also be a plus if Percy started to see Nico as the demigod hero he was, rather than the child who played some mystical card game.

            Jason didn’t care if they were friends or best friends or boyfriends or engaged by tomorrow morning- just so long as they got along well. He was sure that Percy wanted to be Nico’s friend, but he also knew that Percy didn’t blame Nico for hating him which was probably just encouraging Nico.

            Jason reached Nico’s bunk and knocked softly. He wasn’t sure if the kid was asleep or what but Jason was fairly certain he didn’t appreciate loud noises.

            After a minute Nico slowly opened the door, like two inches. His eyes widened when he saw Jason standing there, which is exactly when he remembered that he was sweaty and shirtless and covered in blood and bruises.

“What?” Nico finally asked, his eyes looking anywhere except for Jason’s torso.

            Jason tried not to look insulted at Nico’s callous attitude- he was like that with everyone, after all. “Are you busy?”

            Nico looked into his room before looking back at Jason. “I guess not. Why? What happened to you?”

            This time Jason had to try not to smile- there was concern in that last question. Faint but definitely present concern. “Nothing.” He said quickly. “Just that I’m getting my ass kicked in practice by Piper and Annabeth so I’m sitting out the next round.”

            Nico waited for him to continue. When he didn’t he prompted, “Okay?” In a Yeah, and?  voice.

            “They obviously need to continue practicing, but I’m beat. Literally and figuratively. And Percy needs a partner to continue.” He spat out the last sentence quickly, like he was hoping it would go unnoticed by Nico and he would just agree to join.

            “No.” Nico said immediately. He went to close the door, but Jason shoved his foot in it.

            “Nico.” Jason sighed, slightly exasperated. He pushed open the door and was surprised to see- the cleanest room he’d ever seen in his life.

            He wasn’t sure why it surprised him, but Nico’s room was spotless. There were no clothes lying about, or anything lying about. Any personal effects Nico had, if he even had any, must have been put away in the drawers. Even the bed was probably perfectly neat before Nico had flopped onto it, glaring at the celling.

            “I said no.” Nico repeated when Jason took another step into his room.

            “Come on, Nico. It’ll be fun.”

            “Yeah, it looks like you were having loads of fun.” Nico deadpanned.

            Jason tried to come up with a good response to that, but telling Nico that he was getting beat up on purpose, to get him to work with Percy, would probably not end well. “I think it’ll be good for you. You could always use more practice.”

            “Just because you know… things about me doesn’t mean you can blackmail me into spending time with Percy Jackson.” He said the name with a bitter disgust.

            “I’m not trying to blackmail you, I’m trying to help you. You honest-to-gods could use some practice. Especially with the people you’ll be fighting with on the battle field.”

            Nico propped himself up on his elbow, his glare piercing Jason’s very soul. If Nico stared at him too long, he could probably figure out Jason’s whole plan. What came next though surprised him. “Are you saying I’m bad at sword fighting?”

            Jason almost laughed from relief. “No! Well, not necessarily…”

            “Fine.” Nico spat, pulling himself off his bed. “I’ll play your stupid game. But the moment you’re healed, you and I are going to go a few rounds and then we’ll see who’s actually bad at sword fighting, Grace.”

            Jason laughed, running his hands through his hair. “Deal.” He was relieved- not only would Nico fight side bye side with Percy, but that threat was similar to the one he and his friends would share back in New Rome. Maybe Nico did like him. 

#oh my gods why am i writing so much #i dont know #i have a lot of pent up PJ feels i guess #ive been reading these books since like the fifth grade #and the fanfic soultion only occured to me like a few days ago #im glad it did #im having fun writing this even if no one else likes reading it #shrug #also again #P.S.S. if you find any grmatical errors or factual errors then LET ME KNOW SO I CAN THCNAGE THEM DONT JUST LET ME EMBRASS MYSELF #hoo #heroes of olympus #hoo fanfic #heroes of olympus fanfiction #fanfiction #percy jackson #jason grace #frank zhang #( i wrote some frank yay) #(i feel like i dont reall yknow frank as well as the rest of them idk why) #(but Ill try to incoporate him i swear)

[slightlylessmediocre]

All Aboard

 Basically the only important thing is that it takes place after House of Hades in an AU where Nico went on the Argo II because of reasons and also where everyone is about the same age (16-18 range) because I can't deal with young teenagers I just can't. 

(I literally don't know what i'm doing. At all. I'm just kind of word-vomiting onto paper. I have no idea where this will go. I want to continue it. But i just don't know where it'll end, especially because I ship ALL THE THINGS. Okay. Yeah. Be warned. And if you manage to finish this and want to read more of my long ramblings, here's part two!)

Piper

Piper, as usual, blamed her mom for this. For her caring about love and romance- specifically, other people’s love and romance. She wished, oh so desperately she wished that the only relationship she cared about was her and Jason, which really was the only relationship she should get in to.

            But no. She was a daughter of Aphrodite. Completely useless- except when it comes to noticing other relationship problems. That was her special skill. Watch out Gaea.

             She tried to ignore the problem, really she did. But Nico Di Angelo was radiating pure broken-heart. That wasn’t exactly new but it seemed somehow worse lately- and Piper knew why. She remembered when Jason was right next to her and he couldn’t remember her at all- it was so upsetting, even if the memories of them together at Wilderness School were fake. Piper imagined Nico was in a similar situation- before; he was trying everything he could to get Percy and Annabeth out of Tartarus but now that they were back and being all….couple-y all over the place, Nico was forced to face the reality that the person he loved was in love with another boy named Percy.

            Annabeth had told Piper that she was pretty sure that Nico liked her- which makes sense as to why he was always so awkward around Annabeth and why he hated Percy so much. Of course Piper understood why Nico had a crush on Annabeth- she was so smart and strong, and she had that gold hair and those intense eyes. Not to mention that Annabeth was probably the first girl that Nico saw in what, seventy years?, that wasn’t his sister.

            But Percy and Annabeth were inseparable, even more so since they escaped Tartarus, and as much as Piper wanted Nico to be happy, Annabeth was off limits. It was unfortunate that there weren’t a bunch of other cute daughters of Athena around. In fact, there weren’t any good options around- Hazel was his sister, Annabeth was with Percy and Piper was with Jason. Maybe Reyna, who seemed to also be hung up on someone who was taken (and who also happened to be Piper’s boyfriend).

            So there was no moving Nico on to someone else, which would probably be the easiest way to get him off Annabeth- but Piper was determined. If anything good came from Aphrodite being her mother, she wanted it to be making Nico Di Angelo happy.

            Or at least slightly less miserable.

            Plus it would be nice if Percy and Nico got along better.

Jason

Piper gave a frustrated sigh and fell on to Jason’s bed.  Jason was sitting on the other side, reading a book Annabeth had lying around and suggested to him. He lowered the book, raising his eyebrow at his girlfriend. “Problem, Pipes?” He asked after a minute.

            She groaned. “Yes.”

            Piper remained silent. Jason put the book down and rolled over so that he was lying next to her. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

            “I’m frustrated.”

            “By who?”

            “Nico.”

            A crease appeared between Jason’s eyebrows. He didn’t know what Piper’s recent obsession with Nico was about or where it came from but he didn’t like it. He knew it made Nico uncomfortable and keeping Nico’s secret from Piper made Jason uncomfortable. But Jason would never tell- not on the threat of death.

            Although honestly, Jason thought Nico should tell everyone- if not about him liking Percy, at least that he was gay. Jason had actually done some research on this and it was true that in the 40’s homosexuality was not publicly accepted. Though unfortunately it still wasn’t widely accepted today either, it would be accepted on the Argo II, Jason was sure of that. If anyone had a problem with Nico he would personally see to it that said person was beaten to a pulp and thrown overboard- even if that person was Percy.

            But Jason didn’t think Percy would have a problem with it. Again, he didn’t think it would be a problem with anyone. Jason figured that if Nico did tell everyone, and everyone accepted him, maybe Nico would stop hating Percy and, more importantly, himself. Maybe the kid would actually smile again. The one time Nico had smiled, it was actually really kind of beautiful. Jason figured that if Nico smiled more often, he could probably win over Percy. Well, if it wasn’t for Annabeth.

            “Earth to Jason! Hello!” Jason just realized that Piper was talking to him.

            “W-what?” His eyes focused back onto Piper’s ever-changing ones.

            “I asked you if you knew any single girls into boys who can summon ghosts and who are dark and pouty and forever in a bad mood?” She repeated, frowning at the celling.

            “You’re trying to set up Nico?” Jason asked, surprised. “Since when are you into setting people up, or literally anything to do with romance?” He demanded.

            Piper sighed. “I’m just hoping to get him… slightly happier. He’s so hung up on Annabeth, and it’s worse now that she’s back and all over the place with Percy. I want Nico to be happy.”

            “Why?” Jason didn’t mean for it to come out so harshly, but it did.

            Piper looked back at him, raising her eyebrows. “You don’t want him to be happy? I mean I know he’s a little weird but it seems like you two have been getting along lately-“

            “No, it’s not that.” Jason said quickly. “I mean why do you care about Nico’s happiness?”

            Piper was silent for a moment. Then, “Why do you, Jason? You thought he was as terrifying as the rest of us and then you came back with that scepter and you two are like best friends- well as close to it as someone could get with Nico. I mean what happened in Split?” She asked, frowning.

            “Nothing happened in Split!” Jason insisted- his usual answer. “I just… We can all be a little mean to Nico sometimes.”

            “Well I’m trying to change that.” Piper insisted.

            “By changing him.” Jason pointed out.

            “By helping him.” Piper almost growled. She shook it off before continuing. “To answer your previous why question, its just because I feel bad. I have you, Annabeth has Percy, Hazel has Frank and even Leo seems like he’s met someone, even if he won’t tell us who it is!”

            “I’m not sure that counts.” Jason protested.

            Piper ignored him and continued. “But Nico only has some girl who he’s been hung up on for years who, as I previously mentioned, is taken. I may not like being a child of Aphrodite, but I am and something in my blood can’t stand to see him so distraught- at least not over love. I can’t solve his other problems but I can at least try to fix this.”

            “I think you should stay out of it, Pipes. Nico’s love life is the last thing he wants to talk about. Maybe we should try to cheer him up in other ways.” Jason suggested gently.

            “Like what?” Piper groaned.

            For that, Jason didn’t actually have an answer. All he knew is that he wanted to keep his girlfriend away from Nico’s love life. “Why don’t you ask Hazel?” He suggested.

            Piper groaned again. Jason leaned his head forward and kissed her forehead, leaving his lips there as he spoke. “You know, you could just leave it alone entirely.”

            Piper sighed and wrapped her arms around Jason as best she could. “I know. But I won’t. Everyone deserves to be happy- even Nico Di Angelo.”

            Jason smiled against her skin- this was one of the many reasons he loved Piper. “Even Nico Di Angelo.” He agreed quietly. 

Nico

Nico was pretty sure that his happy days were over. Not that he had many in the first place, but his taking to the Argo II on a permanent-type basis was surely a death penalty for being happy.

            He still wasn’t quite sure why he did it. Was it for Hazel? She had gone through a lot in the last few days and having an older brother around might be the comfort she needs. Maybe it was for Frank, who was now able to command an army of the dead, and Nico was the only one with experience in that field, so he could probably help Frank. Possibly it was to make sure that SOB Jason Grace kept his promise and didn’t breathe a word about anything that happened in Split.

            But no. No that wasn’t it. Nico knew, deep down why he was here. And he hated it. He hated that it was concern for Percy Jackson that kept him anchored to this god-awful ship.

            But Percy had just gone through an ordeal and when Nico went through the same ordeal, he could’ve used someone who knew what it was like and could be there for him. Percy could use someone who knew what it was like, someone to comfort him, hold him close, someone to tangle his fingers in Percy’s messy hair and pull his lips closer-

            Nico physically shook his head to get rid of the thoughts because why in the Underworld was he thinking about Percy Jackon’s lips? His soft, pink lips forming that cocky smile that made Nico want to punch him so hard in the face.

            “Ugh.” Nico groaned out loud, thankful that no one could hear him. He was glad no one else was interested in the crow’s nest because he practically lived up there now- now that Percy was back.

            It’s where Nico was now, and where he liked to be every night. The crow’s nest was far enough away from the deck that the torchlight didn’t reach, and any light there was came from the stars overhead. Here the wind blew through his messy hair gently, keeping him cool (as if he needed any help with that, considering his naturally low body temperature). Nico leaned his head against the mast and looked up at the stars. Here, in the middle of the Mediterranean, there was no light pollution. The stars were even brighter than they were when he was younger.

When he and Bianca shared a room, they used to sneak out of bed and try to spot shooting stars. He was never good at keeping his wish a secret- he used to tell Bianca right after he wished. “You’re not supposed to tell me your wish, Nicky!” She would giggle, ruffling his hair. “Well what did you wish for?” Nico would ask her, but she would never say. Just another part of Bianca that Nico would never know.

He sighed, bumping his head against the mast again. Nico wanted to wish on the stars again- but he didn’t know what he wanted to wish for. Or at least, he didn’t want to admit it to himself. Plus Nico didn’t believe in wishing on stars anymore, he wasn’t a child. If you wanted something to happen you had to get it done yourself- and most likely the gods would ruin all your plans anyway, so why bother? Life was pointless. Sigh.

Below him, Nico could hear the sounds of the crew, living life without him. Piper and Hazel were practicing sword fighting. Annabeth was reciting Latin to Jason, who has been teaching her “for fun”. Leo was sitting next to the helm, but he was loudly tinkering with the Archimedes Sphere, occasionally cursing at it. Frank had gone below deck to sleep a while ago. And Percy? Ugh, why do I even care about him? Nico thought bitterly. But of course, he knew that Percy was sitting on prow, talking to the local water nymphs about what was going on in every direction, and specifically closer to land.  Nico was easily able to pick out Percy’s soft mumblings through all the noise. His voice was so gentle, but Nico could pick up on a hint of worry. He wished he could comfort Percy. Sure there were dark times on the horizon- but they weren’t anywhere close to the Argo II. They were safe for now, Nico could feel it.

            But perhaps there were other people that he should be trying to comfort, other than the boy who made him completely miserable. Namely, Hazel who Nico imagined was going through an ordeal. She just had the realization that she was far more powerful than she had thought, and she was already pretty damn powerful. Her powers to control the Mist could be used for good or evil, and as someone who had been on both sides of the looking glass, Nico figured he could probably help. He wanted to encourage her to use them for good, but in his opinion, the most important part of having intense demigod powers was not letting anyone manipulate you to use them- good or evil. And that’s what he wanted to teach her.

            Then again, Hazel might not need him. When Nico was going through the realization that he had awesome and terrible powers, he had no one. No one to teach him how to use them, and when to use them and what the consequences could be. Hazel had her boyfriend, and an entire crew of people who deeply believed in her. Maybe she didn’t need her older brother.

            Nico frowned, looking away from the sky. He wasn’t quite sure what the emotion he had when he thought of Hazel as his sister, but it definitely made him feel something. There was some guilt- would Bianca be mad or jealous now that Nico had found himself a new sister? Would she think that he was forgetting about her? Shame was another one because to this day he still wasn’t sure what possessed him to bring Hazel back from the dead. Was it a selfish act? Was he looking for someone to share the burden of being a child of Hades? Did Hazel even want to be here? He also felt guilty for feeling relieved that Hazel was there with him. It was nice to have another child of Hades to share the burden. It was nice to have another sister, especially one who looked up to him. Who loved him and wouldn’t leave him the moment some hot-shot goddess came along with the offer of immortality as long as she gave up all the men in her life- including Nico.

            Nico realized that the area around him was darker then it should be, which meant he was brooding again. Shadows tended to cling to him when he started to do that. In fact, even if the crew hadn’t noticed, he was willing to bet it was brighter on deck because the darkness crept toward him. For the most part, Nico didn’t mind so much. It wrapped around him like a blanket, keeping him safe and allowing him to pass unnoticed by judgmental, prying eyes.

            Nico tried to shake it off- but it’s hard to shake off darkness. He had learned that the hard way. 

#um this is longer than i thought it would be #also i dont know what i want the title to be but thats what it is now #also i REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING #P.S.S. if you find any grmatical errors or factual errors then LET ME KNOW SO I CAN THCNAGE THEM DONT JUST LET ME EMBRASS MYSELF #okay thank #heroes of olympus #hoo #hoo fanfic #heroes of olympus fanfiction #piper mclean #jason grace #nico di angelo

[slightlylessmediocre]

Grant Ward is Drunk

{(Takes place right after Ragtag so spoilers if you aren't there yet. Also this is my first posting so... don't judge me. Although comments help.)}

Grant Ward was drunk. He was leaning against (Coulson's) bar on the bus (that May used to fly) drinking a scotch that (Skye) assured would get him drunk.

Well it was working, but certainly not enough. Because Grant Ward could still remember every word Fitz said and every look Simmons gave him- from the moment they locked themselves in that room to the moment it hurtled from the plane.

Fitz had still believed in him, and that hurt. He almost wished that Fitz had been cold and hard, like Skye, May, Coulson... And Simmons.

Simmons didn’t believe him. Simmons trusted Skye and not him. Simmons didn’t seem surprised by his betrayal. Simmons was cold and hard toward him, just as he was supposed to be to her.

He still couldn't understand why he wasn't. He could be to everyone else (Even Skye, whom he flirted with for so long and continued to try and make her believe his love for her was real, which was all part of the plan. Hydra always had a plan). Ward could even shoot a dog that was his only friend for six months, surviving in the woods after Garret abandoned him.

Ward didn't think he had it in him to kill Simmons.

He cringed at the thought. Even deep down he hoped that somehow, someway she survived. That Coulson's team managed to pull off one of those last minute miracles. That she and Fitz figured out some way to get to the surface and set off a flare. That he would see her one more time.

But he knew that was impossible. She wouldn't survive. Of course she wouldn't. Grant Ward didn't do things half way, even if he didn't want to do them. (He supposed that included falling for Simmons.)

Perhaps it was better this way, though. This way he never had to find out for sure if the chemistry between them was more than friends- he never had to face rejection from her. This way Triplett couldn't get his hands on her. Ward’s stomach turned every time he thought about how his old friend ("friend") smiled at her. He wanted to throw up when he thought about how she flirted back at Triplett. She was always so impressed with how big and strong he was, never mind that Ward was actually bigger and stronger. These thoughts made him almost glad he did it.

It wasn't enough though. He had always had these nagging thoughts before, when he tried to convince himself that there was no way Simmons liked him so he could give up on liking her. She had Fitz, Triplett; hell even Skye would be better match for her than he would. But Ward didn’t think he was making up the charge between them.

He definitely wasn't making up the disgust on her face moments before he... Well.

Ward kept drinking.

___________________________________________________________

How drunk do you need to be to lose your weaknesses? Ward took another swig of scotch. It burned his throat on the way down, but the pain was comforting. That was something he was used to.

  He drank until he forgot what Garret told him a few hours ago. He drank until he forgot the unnerving eyes of Raina. He drank until he forgot that Hydra had finally taken down Shield.

But no matter how much he drank he couldn’t seem to forget those five faces.

Coulson.

May.

Skye.

Fitz.

Jemma.

  Yes, Grant Ward was drunk. But he still couldn't seem to forget the people he cared about. 

#um #idk how to tag this #ahhhh #fic #fanfiction #agents of shield #MAOS #AOS #biospecialist #ward x simmons #simmons x ward #grant ward #ward #grant ward x jemma simmons