lotusstarlet

[lotusstarlet]

masterlist

welcome to my masterlist! this page features all of my works so far, as well as anything to be posted in the near future.

want to make an addition? unfortunately, i am not currently accepting requests.

join taglist for future fics📋 (feel free to specify what characters you’d like to be notified for)

my ao3 🪷✧˚₊‧༉ flufftober masterlist (🕸️= flufftober fic)

percy jackson

winning is my trademark percy jackson x cabin 17 gn!reader

prologue

winning is my trademark 🌟 playlist🎧

i ain't gonna bite, come on over 🌟 playlist🎧

you don't know what you're gonna do 🌟 playlist🎧

up and left me on the beach fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

up and left me on the beach something's happening again i thought i was left for dead i found a second wind you try to cast me away i'd hate to go, so let me in thought about it for a week i found the missing element

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

standalones

never seen that color blue

day 1: anniversary 🕸️

day 5: early morning walks 🕸️

day 7: moving day 🕸️

day 8: cursed 🕸️

day 10: set up by friends 🕸️

day 12: blizzard (or heatwave) 🕸️

day 16: pillows, plushies, piles of blankets 🕸️

i saw y/n kissing santa claus

can i kiss you this christmas?

don't want no riddle

i'd marry you with paper rings

two hearts in one home

will solace

go forth, ask questions later will solace x cabin 2 gn!reader

go forth, ask questions later & i'm going on clean it finally appears, it's only love in no good state to receive aperture lets the light in we belong together

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

standalones

day 2: petsitting 🕸️

day 6: late night talks 🕸️

day 11: "double or nothing?" 🕸️

day 13: hosting a holiday event (blurb) 🕸️

day 17: making a costume 🕸️

drew tanaka

day 3: in vin veritas 🕸️

day 9: coming home 🕸️

day 14: stuck together 🕸️

finn blake

i'm already down the aisle (duology)

i'm already down the aisle

let's get straight to "i do"

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

standalones

day 18: is this seat taken? 🕸️

luke castellan

day 4: set in another time 🕸️ (luke castellan x reader)

a man undercover, but you tore him apart

you were drivin' the getaway car

the words i didn't say

[lotusstarlet]

i found the missing element

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 4.4k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF. suggestive themes, swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 (current) / 9 / 10

you descended the stairs, rubbing your eyes. the combination of the skinny dipping and the ruminating shower made waking up much more challenging than it had to be. but, you had to talk to percy today, there was no denying it. 

your mind wandered. how would you approach her? would she see you first? would she smile? would she say your na—

“hi.” a voice that was not drew’s spoke.

you met percy’s eyes and every organ in your body dissipated into mush. she stood right next to the couch, her arms crossed like a shield over her chest. 

“hey.”

“can we talk? drew said i could take her place for the coffee run.”

for our last time ever at second wind? there was no way you’d ever be able to pay drew back for this. you took a breath. “yeah, of course.”

percy grabbed the front door for you. you gave her a sheepish ‘thank you.’ this wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as you imagined it. as soon as you descended the porch steps, every second spent in silence became increasingly painful.

“about—” you started.

“i’m so—” percy started, at the same time.

“go ahead,” you said. no way you were going to cut off her apology.

“i’m sorry. for running away in the morning, and the double date, and for all of this. i just got this really overwhelming urge to go back to camp, and everything just…exploded, i guess.”

the crosswalk came up, and you both stopped to wait for cars to clear. it didn’t take long, thankfully, because you were practically begging to hear the answer to the one word that’d been haunting your mind since that night—why. once you got across, she spoke again.

“i shouldn’t have avoided you in all of that time. but every time i tried to convince myself to talk to you, i couldn’t. we were doing so well and then it was camp that pulled me away. but not a minute went by where i wasn’t thinking about you. that was one of the best nights of my life, truly.

“so i’m beyond sorry. i really like you, and if there’s anything i can do to make it up to you, i will. i’ll do it a million times over. but i also understand if you don’t want to continue.”

percy was out of breath by the time she finished speaking. you somehow continued walking as you listened, despite the way your knees felt weak at half of the points. your heart had finally relaxed, same with your brain. at least you’d gotten the answer, the why. but that hadn’t changed the meddling worry.

you had to ask, otherwise you’d never sleep again. “what about the double date? as in, the one you”—you eased your tone—”made a deal with me to go on.”

percy grimaced. “i was scared. i have no excuse for that. i’m sorry. i’m serious, i’ll go on a million more. it wasn’t personal, i promise. none of this was.”

that wasn’t helpful, but, it was too late now. 

“i knew it wasn’t personal,” you said. “that’s the shitty reason why i didn’t question anything you did. i just figured, i don’t know, i wouldn’t be able to fully understand you, considering i never had all of the quests and the prophecies and all of the stuff you did. i didn’t have anything at camp to grieve. you had everything..” you chuckled. “and i’m sorry, as well.”

you two walked alongside the beach. the waves were calm and the beachgoers were talking and laughing. what you wouldn’t give to be someone as simple as them, not dealing with a literal apology at this point.

percy furrowed her eyebrows. great. your stomach sank.

“you do understand.” what? “and that was horrifying at first. but now it’s refreshing to be around someone who i can…hate camp with.”

every thought in your head stopped. you paused near the door of the cafe. did you hear any one of those words correctly? you parted your lips to speak, but nothing came out. first of all, you understood? there was no way. and there was no way she also hated camp. 

“you hate camp?” you asked, finally. right, because that should be your first question.

percy answered immediately. “yeah. somewhat. of course i also love it, in a way.”

she had every right to hate it. in fact, she may’ve had more of a right to hate it than you did. everything you’d assumed about her had disappeared right in that moment. you took the door handle to steady yourself.

“wow,” you said. “that’s crazy.” that was all you could truly manage.

“i kind of miss when you would’ve told me to move on.” a small smirk played onto her lips.

you lightly shoved her shoulder. “shut up. okay, we’ll talk more about this, but over coffee.”

you took your order number to an outdoor table for two. it was on the pier, the waves next to you. and, for once, percy wasn’t looking at the waves, but rather, at you, and you only. your heart raced. you’d never felt the weight of her uninterrupted gaze before.

“i literally never would’ve thought i’d hear you say you hated camp. i mean, it makes sense, but…wow,” you said.

“is it the necklace? i’ve been through way too much to not constantly wear something proving that.”

you rolled your eyes. “that definitely doesn’t help. no, it’s just…everything. i don’t know. sorry. this is weird.”

a barista set two mugs and two to-go cups down for drew and annabeth. she also set down a bag of four croissants. you set one on the saucer. it was hot and fresh. you’d never been more thankful for a moment to pause. both of you took sips of your drinks.

percy spoke. “i’ve never actually said i hate it out loud. like, i hate camp.”

you smiled. “keep saying it. it sounds good.”

“i hate camp. i hate camp. i hate camp.”

you laughed, and she did, too. for a moment, it just felt regular. even though you were technically talking about camp, there was something you wanted to keep about it forever. something tender in your chest and heart.

“i think we should try again,” you blurted out.

a small flush found itself on percy’s face. “couldn’t agree more.”

finally. fucking finally. you fought the urge to jump for joy, or pull her into a celebratory kiss, or cheer. instead, you two sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. you ripped off a bite of fresh croissant, placing it in your mouth. 

you finally found it to ask, “so, did anyone drown while you were a lifeguard?”

“no, but there was this one incident…”

⬿•☀️•⤳

the rest of the breakfast had gone better than any of your past ones. you laughed at every story of percy’s, and she found the whole list thing adorable. 

but she hadn’t mentioned it again until the end of the walk home, when you were both on the porch, you holding the coffees and her fetching her key.

“i totally want to make the double date thing happen while we’re still here. but we can do that tomorrow morning. for today, if you’re free, i was thinking i could help you understand my experience a little better,” percy said, something dragging at the end of the statement.

you weren’t sure whether you were supposed to be aroused or concerned or excited. “and what might that be?”

“pack an overnight bag and meet me down here at 10.”

⬿•☀️•⤳

you and percy walked on a sand path through a forest. she refused to tell you where you two were headed, despite the fact you’d literally packed an overnight bag and were willingly hauling it around town. 

“we’re going on a quest,” she said. “a quest for the best beach in cape may.”

you stifled a laugh. “a quest? that’s what we’re calling it?”

“yes, actually.” percy straightened her posture as you continued forward, the distant waves getting louder. “we have a prophecy, too. if you’re interested in taking this seriously.”

a prophecy? childlike excitement came through you. a quest. a real life quest. with a prophecy and all. giving her a tiny smile, you looked over. “i am. i promise. what is it?”

“through cape may they trotter, the children of wine and water. the best beach will be decided by each.”

you raised your eyebrows. “wow. that really sounds legit.”

you descended the path and onto the first beach: higbee. the coast was lined with tall, untended plants, while the other half was sand. there had to be at least ten dogs. all of them were various breeds, shapes, and sizes. some on leashes, some not. some wild, some calm.

“so, what exactly is the plan here?” you asked.

“pet dogs?”

“the dogs determine what the best beach is?”

percy rolled her eyes. she started walking towards someone, and you followed, unsure. she turned look at you. “it’s not about the actual land. just the beach in general. the people, too.”

the two of you approached a big, fluffy golden retriever, laying half-up on the sand, panting . you couldn’t blame him. the woman sitting next to him and holding his leash looked up as you approached. she looked familiar, but you weren’t quite sure from where.

“could we pet him?” percy asked, already crouching down to his level.

“go for it.” the woman nodded.

percy started without hesitation. a small smile was on her face as her hand stroked the dog’s furry head. his soft fur glided under the touch. her eyes were brighter than you’d ever seen them, and you couldn’t help but get butterflies. if you could keep that look on her face forever, you easily would.

“his name is buddy,” his human said.

suddenly, you realized you were staring at percy and not the dog. you flushed and quicky started petting buddy. with his fur slightly warmed from the sun, your racing heart eased.

she continued. “i’ve been trying to get him used to the beach. i’ve been trying to get myself used to the beach. i just opened a coffee shop down by the pier, actually. and buddy is a city dog. born and raised in new york. so, it’s been a bit of a culture shock.”

you furrowed your eyebrows. “wait, what’s your coffee shop called?”

percy looked between the two of you, confused.

“second wind coffee. familiar?”

“no way! we’re just visiting, but my friend and i go there like, almost every morning. the coffee is legendary.”

she smiled. “thank you. i’m not in nearly enough to learn regulars, but as soon as i get this whole dog thing dealt with…nevermind. where are you two visiting from?”

“also new york,” percy answered before you could.

“that’s where my first location is. brooklyn. same coffee. same beans, same roast. i’m there a little less, but i trust those baristas with my life. and my coffee, clearly.”

you chuckled. “it was so great to meet you. and buddy.”

“you as well. i’m andrea.”

you and percy introduced yourselves. you gave two last pets to buddy before heading off. but, you did wait until you were out of earshot to fangirl.

“drew’s going to be so jealous that i met the literal owner of second wind. she says it’s the best coffee she’s ever had. that’s not an easy feat. you should literally see her coffee collection.”

percy nodded. “you two really seemed to get each other.”

was she jealous? no way. yet, something in your stomach fluttered—at the idea, if anything. 

“we did. is that a problem?” you couldn’t hide a smile.

“a little.”

“a little? i mean, you look pretty disturbed. i just want to be sure.”

she stopped. her eyes flickered to your lips, then back at you. the lowest point of your stomach tingled. percy turned to you, moving ever-so-slightly closer. a small smile played on her face.

“i think you’ll like the next beach.” her tone was sickeningly sweet. “only one way to find out.”

⬿•☀️•⤳

still riding on the high that was the combination of meeting the second wind owner and seeing percy jealous, your chest fluttered the whole walk to the next beach. there was a pretty obvious favorite. nothing would be able to outdo that. 

until you approached the light blue building in the distance, its windows golden this time, backed by a tall white lighthouse—sunset beach.

“you remembered,” you said.

percy had a small smile on her face. “of course i did. hard not to after everything that happened.”

you walked through the door and were greeted with just about any and every article of clothing and souvenir imaginable, all cape may themed. under the sunlight-esque overhead light were miniature lighthouses, racks of t-shirts and hoodies, sea creature plushies, and, of course, baseball caps.

“actually, i need a new cap for my next film,” you said.

you headed towards the shelf, percy following. you had no idea where to start. the baseball caps were so similar yet so different. you couldn’t be a spielberg-wannabe without a hat that matched the theme of your film, so you hummed thoughtfully.

“spielberg actually wears a different hat for each film he directs,” you said, without even realizing you were speaking. “but i don’t even have an idea for my next film.”

percy was looking at the neighboring section of various themed trinkets before she turned to you. “the taxi driver guy? is that movie really that good?”

you groaned. “no, not the taxi driver guy. even you know that’s wrong. martin scorsese directed taxi driver. spielberg has directed some of the biggest films of all time. like E.T. and jaws. and, yes, for the record, taxi driver is a masterclass in filmmaking.”

percy laughed. she really was so beautiful—in every context, but especially when she was laughing, looking so carefree. the sight made your heart speed up.

“i was fucking with you,” percy said, finally.

you shook your head. turning back to the baseball caps, you scouted the shelf. the first one that you saw was a light blue one that read ‘CAPE MAY’ in big letters. you placed it on your head, checking it out in the mirror. the combination of the color and the distracting letters—and the fact you weren’t creating a cape may themed film—made you say…

“nope.”

you traded it for one with a shark design. cute, but you weren’t directing jaws. then a simple, blue denim cap, which looked like it should’ve gone out of production the last day of 2000. you laughed as you adjusted it in the mirror.

“it’s not terrible,” percy said. she was now completely immersed in this process, apparently.

“not good enough.” you took it off. “wait, why aren’t you trying anything on?”

percy’s blinking sped up to at least double it’s speed, pulling an alarming amount of your attention to her long eyelashes. “i don’t need one.”

makes sense. you picked up one that was an obnoxious, highlighter-neon yellow. it stuck out of the rack like a sore thumb. and, to make it worse, there was no design on it. just a plain eyesore. as soon as you placed it on your head, you shielded your eyes from its neon.

“that’s the one,” percy said.

you took it off and your eyes instantly relaxed. “that was an abomination.”

as soon as you set it back on the shelf, percy had picked up a different cap. it was a sleek black with a tiny lighthouse embroidered in the middle. the black would make you look incredibly professional as a director. but the whole lighthouse thing…

percy stepped in front of you. the entire world faded to nothing but the sight of her. her eyes on you, her face right there, her lips just inches from yours. she placed the cap on your head. your heart raced at the feeling of her hands, well, in your proximity. just as you thought she was going to back away, she fastened it.

“that’s better,” she whispered.

are you sure? it could use maybe one more adjustment, you thought of saying, because percy whispering was something you’d never get enough of, you learned in that moment. unfortunately, she stepped back, letting you look at yourself in the mirror.

the hat perfectly complimented you. it fit in your hair, blending with the color. it was the perfect balance between professional and fun—in the same way a student film was. the lighthouse was tiny enough to not stick out too much. it did scream director.

before you could say anything, percy spoke. “slate in!”

“action!”

as soon as those words left your mouth, you furrowed your eyebrows. “what the actual fuck?”

percy smiled. “it’s perfect.”

she picked up the same lighthouse-embroidered cap, except in a navy blue. “we can match.”

“i thought you said you didn’t need one.”

though, seeing her in the reflection, the way the navy accentuated every beautiful feature of hers, it was hard to care about anything being needed or not. percy rotated it, checking it out.

“yeah, but, in case i’m ever your AD again.”

she pursed her lips. a pure look of terror covered her face, draining it of its color. you furrowed your eyebrows. first of all, your AD? like, not an AD, but yours? at least you weren’t alone in that…sentiment. second of all, again? meaning, you’d see each other after this summer? you fought the urge to ask.

percy turned on her heel, already walking away. “let’s find some stuff for drew and annabeth.”

⬿•☀️•⤳

you and percy stood on cove beach. the lighthouse towered to your left, miles away, but as big as ever. you couldn’t go anywhere in cape may without it following. you held the bag of souvenirs, while percy was already walking into the waves.

“are we just going to leave this bag here, or…” 

percy looked at you like you were dumb. “i’ve got it.”

the water was already halfway to her knees. you stood where the end of the waves were gracing your toes. uh…did she really want you to just believe that?

“i just have a feeling you don’t.” you narrowed your eyes at her.

percy wrapped her fingers around your wrist, her skin slightly warmed from the sun. your skin was very warmed from everything but the sun. she looked up at you. oh, right, you were supposed to be walking.

before you even realized it, you and the bag were submerged into the ocean. the souvenirs were probably damaged. but no way you were going to worry about that stupid stuff when there was this beautiful siren luring you in.

percy stopped once the water reached your waist. 

you furrowed your eyebrows. “wait, shit, our clothes.”

“you’re completely dry.” she jutted her chin to your shirt.

up there, yeah. you looked down. your shirt was, in fact, dry. percy’s outfit was also dry. and her hair was, too, despite how she’d lightly dipped her head back. 

“damn.” you eased further into the water.

nothing changed, aside from the liquid surrounding you warming. percy watched you, the laugh she seemed to be holding back gradually revealing itself. as a final test, you submerged your head. completely dry.

“i give up,” you said.

“good, because nothing was going to work anyway.” 

you picked up the bag, pulling it from the heavy water. when it came up and floated on the surface, it was, in fact, dry. even the souvenirs.

“this is so sick.” and, before you could stop yourself, “wait, does this mean you can shower in clothes?”

percy tilted her head. walked right into that. “are you trying to ask me what i look like in the shower?”

“actually, yeah.” by the way her cheeks were lightly flushed, it seemed like a question you’d be asking much more often.

“i’ve never tried it.”

and that was somehow the worst answer she could give. your mind wandered, but you quickly refocused on the world in front of you—the water, the sunshine, percy. and most of all, the silence. you two were so far away from everyone and everything.

“i haven’t tried any of my powers outside of whatever that wine drinking one was.” you said. “i don’t even really know what i can do.”

percy submerged to let the come up to her neck. “i think we still have that wine in the fridge.”

right. that stupid wine. the one that brought a smile to percy’s face as she talked about it. for once in your life, you weren’t mad. in fact, you were tempted to laugh.

“i’m sure it’s expired and gross by now.”

“maybe you can un-expire wine.”

you stilled—well, as still as you could be in water. unexpiring wine. useless, sure. you tried to picture it. taking a sip, all of the flavors falling rotten. then doing whatever and they all taste great again. all because you did some effortless thing that just…fixed it.

you smiled, slightly. “yeah, maybe.”

all you wanted to do was sit there and talk. ask endless questions about your powers or literally anything else. and, as you looked at percy, completely dry and tranquil in the summer sun, suddenly, this moment was what you wanted forever. actually, wholeheartedly, forever.

you swam closer to her. she smiled, casting a glance to your lips. the questions dissipated from your mind. her face was right there. your face was also right there. your lips were merely inches away. even though you knew how they felt on your skin, you wanted to feel them again.

she didn’t have to ask, because you just nodded. she submerged her hands underwater. eventually, they found your waist. it took a surprising amount of fighting gravity to finally feel her against you. you eased into the kissing rhythm. it was so soft and slow, while also dripping with passion. all of your past kisses had been rushed. for once, you could just relax.

as the kiss progressed, your hands only got more and more desperate. well, your whole body was throbbing, actually. you tried to focus on her lips. in reality, you wanted all of her against you. you wanted to wander your hands all over every place they’d already gone, over and over and over again, for the rest of your life. you didn’t want even a chance for this feeling to become a memory.

“i could make us a bubble, if you wanted to, y’know…”

in front of the poor sea creatures’ salad? “tempting, but i feel like i’d get motion sick.”

percy nodded. “next time.”

“next time…” you said that as if you were trying it out. “wait, there’ll be a next time?”

“i was just suggesting.” she shrugged.

you smiled. as you both floated in the water, tingles filled your body. the way her hair was completely dry, the way her skin was—you now realized—the only thing glistening on her, making her look even better…maybe that bubble was tempting. nope, you reminded yourself. 

“where are we going after this?” you asked.

“well, it’s not really a beach, but it’s a beach by proximity. i think you’ll like it.” 

you both cast another look to each other’s lips. all you wanted to do was just touch her, one more time. 

percy started swimming. “let’s go.”

⬿•☀️•⤳

it was crazy to think that the promenade was such a small plot of land. there were only a handful of shops, and yet, you’d never felt more in the timespan of who knows how long, post-kiss percy by your side.

you’d started in a salt water taffy store—which, as percy explained, was to ‘bring our blood sugar up.’ the walls were lined with shelves of taffy in just about every flavor you could imagine. as you and percy filled a bag with anything that looked good, an idea came to your mind. since you’d already kissed once, what was one more?

“you really think this is going to work?” percy asked.

the two of you sat on a bench, the fresh sunset behind you yet lending its warmth onto your backs. you unwrapped a piece of blue raspberry taffy that’d been warmed from sitting in your pocket for a few minutes. giving it a small squish, the texture was incredibly promising.

“i’m positive.” you struggled to get the wrapper off completely, the melting candy sticking to it. 

carefully, you bit just into the edge. percy closed the gap, biting the other side.

you fought a laugh as you tried to move closer to her. nothing happened. percy did the same, her jaw unlocking then locking. she broke off a piece. and, at the same time, she bit your bottom lip. you winced, a metallic taste creeping in.

percy swallowed her side of the taffy and moved onto a proper kiss. you quickly sent yours down your throat. no way you were going to let a single obstacle between you and her lips. once everything was out of the way, you could finally taste the remnants of the blue raspberry on her lips. 

her tongue grazed your bottom lip. your entire body flooded with sparks. okay, this is happening, here. she licked the tiny, stinging wounds. just as you were about to reciprocate, she pulled away. you furrowed your eyebrows.

“really?” you asked.

percy shrugged nonchalantly. “i didn’t want to start something i couldn’t finish.”

you moved on to one of the arcades. it didn’t have a fourth wall, meaning the near waves were still audible, even with the neon lights and blaring music from the machines. 

after getting your tokens, you looked to percy. “whoever wins the most picks dinner.”

percy nodded.

and it was on. you battled in various racing games, going three rounds—because of your ‘best of three’ protest. also because percy looked weirdly hot behind a steering wheel, her focus on the game and the game only. you did end up losing.

you moved on to throwing games. you’d won the basketball one and percy had won ‘down the clown’, making your ratio 2:1—you losing, unfortunately. 

the final showdown was on a dancing machine. you had won. and the 2:2 tie was broken with a quick game of rock paper scissors, which you’d also won. but dinner aside, you wanted anything but for this night to end.

after dinner at a beachside restaurant, the sun was fully down. surely it was a little late to be out, despite the fact you were energized to no end. something about percy had a way of making you want to stay awake for hours, days even, just being with her, in her presence. 

“so…where exactly are we sleeping?” you asked as you exited the restaurant.

“you’ll see,” percy answered. “we have just one more beach to visit.”

[lotusstarlet]

thought about it for a week

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 2.0k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ ANGST. suggestive themes, swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 (current) / 8 / 9 / 10

you stood at the tip of a boat, leaning against the railing. the overly bright afternoon sun looked down on you. a cold breeze from the ocean flew past. 

you still couldn’t stop thinking about percy.

how she’d stood you up and ruined the most important night of the trip—intentionally, too. everything was intentional with her, no matter what.

drew approached you, holding two pina coladas. she handed you one.

“thank you so much.” you took a sip, and an undertone of rum lingered. exactly what you’d needed.

drew took the empty railing spot across from you. “of course. now, let it out.”

“i just want to know why.” you set your glass on the ledge. “i have an idea as of why. i mean, it’s the why for genuinely everything in her life. but, still.”

the boat parted through the waves of the vast blue. supposedly, this was a dolphin watching boat, but you hadn’t seen any yet. 

drew looked at you supportively, waiting for you to continue. you took a sip to rev up.

“camp. it’s all camp with her. since the day we got here, it’s just been camp, camp, camp.” you set your drink down to talk with your hands. “the thing is, if i had known she was this…hung up on camp, i would’ve lost feelings months ago. but i didn’t. i didn’t know. she was so normal when she was my AD. it was like we both completely forgot about camp.”

and that was the truth. aside from that one night and its stupid conversation, your interactions with percy on set were normal. even if you’d glance at her necklace and be reminded of the true version of her.

“but summer starts, or the fucking ocean talks to her, or however you want to word it, and she’s gone. normally, she makes me laugh, and we talk and talk. i just want the normal version of her back.”

your hands tingled with exhaustion. you took a long sip of your drink. the cold fruity beverage went down your throat, cooling down not only your vocal chords, but your mind, too. meanwhile, drew shifted her stance.

she asked, “when was the last time you talked to her?”

you set your drink back down, the fire in your chest coming back just at the thought. so much for a cooldown. “midnight before the double date. i’d just finished my everything shower, y’know, that i did all for her. i go downstairs, and she’s sitting on her laptop. i just asked her what she was working on and she said ‘something for a job.’ which, now that i say it…”

you facepalmed, and drew chuckled.

“i should’ve seen the sign. no one fills out a job application at midnight unless it’s for a job they shouldn’t have.”

you looked out at the ocean and wondered if percy was sharing the sight and how close she was to the waves, if her eyes were full or if they were thinking-of-camp-empty. if she—somehow—saw the boat and wondered if you were on it, too.

“i just hate this. camp ruined literally everything.”

drew nodded. “every single thing.”

“i honestly don’t know how we’re expected to live normal lives. like, you and i will be making up for the time we lost at camp…forever. this list is one thing, but we missed out on so much more normal mortal stuff.”

you slouched slightly. drew’s eyes flashed with sympathy. it was the truth. camp had brought out the worst in both of you, and it had ruined both your lives just about equally. you never would get the time back. 

before drew could respond, someone yelled ‘dolphins!’ everyone turned to the sound of a splash. the glossy, gray backs of the dolphins reflected the sunlight in their airtime. their curved body made a seamless transition back into the water. and, as if they could hear the cheering, they made one last jump.

after it calmed down, you turned back to drew.

she spoke. “now that that’s over with, i’ve been meaning to tell you that we have a perfect distraction. i may’ve gotten us started by buying snorkeling tickets.”

you couldn’t help the smile on your face. “really?”

⬿•☀️•⤳

“the time has come,” drew said.

you sat on her bedroom’s carpeting. afternoon sunlight came through the flowy beige curtains. the occasional breeze propelled salt air into the room. 

drew opened her drawer and pulled it out. you immediately burst into a laugh. “good lord.”

in her hand was—an attempt at—a clay box that held the first, only, and official copy of your dream summer list. the box was coated in an oversaturated pink. as drew set it down on the floor, you got a closer look at the way the sides were full of unsmoothed bumps, making it look a mess.

you and drew had carved your initials on the front. they’d been filled in with a purple paint that’d bled past the edges. and, to top it all off, a matching pink lid with a sphere knob. it was ugly but, in its own way, cute. 

and it was made for this exact moment.

“i don’t remember it looking this bad,” drew said.

“me neither.”

a warm gust of salt air came through the windows. drew looked at you, wrapping her fingers around the handle.

“count me down.”

you spoke. “okay. 3…2…1!”

she pulled the lid off, revealing what was expected—a small roll of paper, tied in place with a hair tie. you held it up. drew smiled. you pulled the hairband off,. the paper carefully unraveling. you and drew flattened it with your hands.

“oh, geez.” drew sniffled.

there, laying in front of you, bathed in pastel sunlight, was every single thing you and drew vowed to accomplish on your first mortal summer. a tear fell on drew’s cheek. you fought the urge to make fun of her. but, as you read down the list, you couldn’t help but join her.

the handwriting was the first thing you’d noticed. it’d become neater as the list went on. and the wishes matured, too. the double date was towards the bottom of the list.

“beach bonfire with nice people,” you read from the top of the list. “man.”

you still remembered adding that—of course you had. it was the reason you’d started the list in the first place. your first bonfire was terrible. everyone was talking about things you didn’t understand and you ended up sitting alone. but, it was where you met drew.

“baby’s first bonfire,” drew giggled.

“shut up, little miss ‘whole day at the beach.’”

she handed you a marker. “you can do the honors of crossing the first one off.”

oh, shit. oh, shit. another tear from your eye. you took the marker from her, keeping it between your trembling fingers for a few seconds. “this is genuinely so dumb. why am i even crying?”

but, you knew the answer to that. it was the memories that’d played through your head as you uncapped the marker. the ones where you were isolated, watching everyone else live a happy life you’d never understand. you set the felt tip on the paper. and, with a sore yet tingly bundle in your chest, with that bonfire memory replaced with laughter and your friends…

you checked the box.

and here came the waterworks. you handed the marker to drew. she hovered, hesitating the same way, before checking it off.

“go surfing.” you read. “oh, i definitely went surfing.”

“a whole day at the beach doing nothing.” drew checked off.

“double feature.”

“scuba diving.”

“get on a boat.”

you continued checking things off the list. finally, you reached the ones in much neater handwriting.

“break a heart,” drew read hers. she ran a hand down her face.

you offered her the marker. she shook her head. “nope. i think that one might the only one we don’t check off.”

something on drew’s face was dreamy. you knew that glow, you knew it better than anything. it was the same one she had on her face when annabeth was walking into the restaurant the other day. it was the one she always had on around annabeth, actually. you simply smiled. your best friend deserved that more than anything.

“attend a party.”

drew grimaced. “i mean, annabeth and i did go to that mixer after the film fest, if that counts.”

you two exchanged a glance for a moment before bursting into laughter. she checked it off.

“joint spa day, check. that leaves us with…skinny dipping, a summer fling and a double date.”

‘double date’ was written in its massive bubble letters. the hope was practically leaking off the page. your stomach sunk, but drew took your hand. she gave you a steadying look.

“don’t let that discount everything else we’ve done. we made the summer of our dreams.”

but her words didn’t hit. sure, you’d gotten everything done, but half-heartedly. you weren’t in many of those moments. all because of percy. another tear fell down your face.

drew pulled you against her shoulder, and for a moment, you just laid there, letting tears fall but not forcing them out. all you could do was ask why. why, after you’d done so, so much, did you still want more? why did it all have to be perfect? and why did camp have to ruin everything?

you should’ve just been able to put all of this behind you. it was stupid to plan your whole life around camp. and, yet, as you cried, it was the only thing on your mind.

drew muttered, “for the record, we still haven’t gone skinny dipping.”

⬿•☀️•⤳

hot water rained down from the showerhead. with all the lights off, there was nothing but a small window overlooking the night sky you’d just been under. skinny dipping with drew had been a success. you’d stopped in her room to cross that off the list, leaving the two percy related things on it. other than that, the night had a lot of smiles.

but now that you were surrounded by four walls, silent aside from the sound of running water, you were doing anything but smiling.

if you had just asked percy why that one morning. or even at midnight, when you got a second chance to. maybe she wouldn’t have chosen the job. maybe you’d have some sort of insight into what was going on in her head. and maybe you wouldn’t be spending the last two days of summer without her.

you leaned your head against the window. even if you had asked why, it wasn’t like you’d understand her anyway. she had a different experience—one that she was somehow able to miss. one she was able to miss so much that she’d work on vacation, or bring it up every single time it got quiet, or let it steal her from so many good moments.

the hot water continued streaming down as you stared out into the darkness. percy was lucky. at camp, at least. she had everything. she was the poster child. she went on quests and she got prophecies and she was always the hero. was it weird to wish you’d gone through that stuff, just so you could be somewhat on her level?

you stood up straight. nope. it was one thing to miss percy, it was a whole other if you were going to start going down that road. that was ridiculous. it was over now—thankfully—and you’d never get that time back, making it useless to think about.

but there had to be way to get percy back—even just for the last day. if it meant letting her talk about camp, maybe you could tolerate it. there wasn’t time to get caught up in pettiness—not if you wanted her back. 

okay, you reasoned with yourself, but i’m not bringing it up. it’ll come up if she brings it up. you placed your hands over your face, letting the water rain on you. and if i have anything mean to say, i just won’t respond. just smile and nod.

it’d been a while since you and drew had gone on a coffee run—at least, to second wind—since you refused to be near the beach percy worked on. but you had agreed that your last coffee run would be back at the original. and, maybe tomorrow, you would need that second wind.

you groaned into your palms. what on earth were you getting yourself into?

[lotusstarlet]

i'd hate to go, so let me in

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 1.2k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ LIGHT ANGST. suggestive themes, swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 (current) / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

you bounced your leg underneath the restaurant table. overhead, an acoustic guitar sounded from the speakers. in the air lingered a scent concoction of salt and fresh seafood. ocean waves crashed against the window next to you. 

the only thing missing was percy.

“any minute now…” drew said from her chair next to you, tapping her fingers against her napkin.

sure, you and drew were early, but you couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in your stomach. the same thought had been on repeat all day: should i have talked to percy? you hadn’t exchanged a word with her all day, yet again. the good news was, nothing had changed. the bad news was, nothing had changed. 

every table in the restaurant but yours was filled with people—laughing, talking, pointing forks at each other for emphasis. meanwhile, the two seats in front of you were empty. it was safe to say this was not at all how you’d pictured this date. then again, nothing on this trip was going as you pictured. 

you picked up your phone. “she hasn’t even texted me,” you said. “has she texted you?”

drew didn’t respond. were you getting nationwide silent treatment? her entire body was facing the dining area. sure enough, annabeth was walking in. she wore a short evergreen sundress and her hair looked as beautiful as ever. she was definitely made for hollywood, behind the scenes or not.

you nudged drew, stifling a laugh. “who’s that girl?”

drew absentmindedly shoved your hand away. “fuck off,” she whispered.

as annabeth approached the table, you waited to see percy following her. she wasn’t. okay. you weren’t going to let yourself completely panic. not yet, at least. not until there was concrete evidence that percy wasn’t going to be here. maybe she was running late. she wasn’t always the timeliest AD, sometimes showing up a little after call time. maybe she stalled getting ready. or she had to take a pit stop. or anything else.

you took a breath, the weight in your chest as heavy as ever. at least you could live vicariously through drew for a while. annabeth sat down across from her. 

“hi.”

“hey,” drew said, her face flushed. “you look…you look beautiful.”

you pursed your lips to avoid bursting into laughter. flustered drew wasn’t something anybody saw. annabeth smiled.

“you as well.”

drew’s eyes wandered around annabeth, until she cleared her throat. “where is that dress from?”

as they continued flirting, your thoughts only raced further. the overhead lighting was starting to make you sweat. where the hell was percy? there were no more logical excuses you could make. you gave one last glance past drew and to the dining area. you scanned every table and wished you could zoom in on the door and see each person who came in.

a waiter disrupted your frame.

“welcome to sunny isles seafood. my name is cole, and i’ll be your server today. may i fetch you ladies a beverage?”

annabeth spoke. “i’ll have a san pelligrino, please.”

you furrowed your eyebrows. “aren’t we waiting for percy?”

“i’ll explain in a second.”

you didn’t have a second. your skin fell clammy, the weight in your chest now burning, too. what was there to explain? either she was coming or she wasn’t. it was a yes or no question. nothing about this date could go wrong. and for fuck’s sake, you didn’t have a second.

“and for you, ma’am?” the waiter’s voice jolted you awake.

“uh…” shit. “just a water.”

as soon as the waiter walked away, your racing pulse was the only thing you could hear. 

annabeth grimaced. “percy got a job as a lifeguard. and she’s working as we speak.”

what? “what?”

“i know, it’s weird. but it was the only way she agreed to stay.”

your blood toxified, spreading a burning rot all throughout your limbs. a revolting scent of seafood crawled up your nose. the acoustic guitar had never been louder. this couldn’t be real. there was absolutely no way. all aside, percy wouldn’t work during a double date, let alone the double date. 

but, based on how annabeth’s expression didn’t falter, there may’ve been some truth.

“uh…where exactly was she going to go?” you asked, forcing your voice soft.

annabeth sighed. “back to camp.”

why? you leaned back, slumping against your chair and almost rocking it backwards. you stared out at the ocean. you should’ve known. you should’ve known that, no matter how good things were going between you and percy, that she’d never pick anyone or anything over camp. why did you ever expect it to work?

your eyes fell warm. what about me? sure, what you two had was nothing but a one night stand and one date, but…was that not enough? were all of the memories you’d made not enough? were you not enough? was anything enough for percy? the vast ocean’s waves crashed against the glass, each one feeling like a bullet to the brain.

“why would she work now?” you asked, not meaning to say that aloud.

before anyone could answer, the waiter arrived. he set the drinks down. “are you ready to order?” 

⬿•☀️•⤳

you parted from the warm, golden-lit restaurant into the cool, salty, and dark night. every limb of yours was heavy. as the waves crashed next to you, you finally understood what percy saw in the ocean—an inescapable pull towards something you couldn’t see. it didn’t matter where you went, because it’d always be there.

drew and annabeth followed you out. you leaned against the wall, staring at the beach. a few brave swimmers swam under the freshly navy sky. the lifeguard towers were planted amongst the sand. you wondered if percy was in one of them. and if she were, would she come running over to you?

you shook your head. that was stupid to think about. drew approached you.

“genuinely which beach does she even work at.” your question came out more like a statement. you needed to check on percy. or at the very least see her face. 

“i think the one near our house.” when you straightened your posture, drew placed a hand on your shoulder. “look, babe, i don’t know what’s going on with her, but i wouldn’t check on her. not tonight, at least.”

“i won’t.” those were the most painful two words you ever uttered. “i just wish…i don’t know. i just wish she didn’t pick tonight. she literally had to know what she was doing.”

“she definitely did.” drew started walking, and you hadn’t even noticed that you did, too. she leaned her head lower. “hey, you know i love you, you’re my best friend, but—”

“don’t even justify it.” you waved her off. “gp get your girl.”

drew ran two steps to catch up to annabeth. they instantly fell into a conversation, laughter starting soon after. you couldn’t help but smile, too, even as you walked behind them. at least one of you was happy.

as you walked parallel to the beach, your mind woke up again. what if percy had come to the dinner? 

what if she’d sat across from you, her skin bathed in the warm light? what would she have been wearing? a blue dress? what kind of dress would it be? how would it exactly compliment everything about her? how would her hair look? would it be up? down? half and half? what kind of jokes would you exchange?

the ocean in your peripheral only reminded you of one thing, and that was that you’d never know the answers to those questions.

[lotusstarlet]

you try to cast me away

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 1.7k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ LIGHT ANGST. suggestive themes, swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (current) / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

something wet was on your arm as soon as you opened your eyes. blinking the blurry white light into focus, you followed the feeling to find that it was simply percy, fast asleep, drooling on your arm. 

you’d somehow ended up the big spoon. your mind recalled all of the events leading up to that. all of the kisses, the laughs, the presses of skin on skin, the sounds that’d escaped from your throat, the hip twitches…how had the night gotten so dreamy? 

percy looked like an angel. her long eyelashes curled upwards as she slept. her lips were slightly swollen from all the ways she’d used them on you last night. somehow, through everything, the scent of the ocean lingered on her skin—the same one that’d been there the first time you were in this same position.

your bladder spasmed. great. painfully, you started to move your arm out from under her. she shuffled awake, blinking a few times. you stilled yourself. 

“good morning,” you fought a laugh.

“good morning.” she looked towards the window. 

before you could say anything else, percy hopped out of bed. her side of the mattress fell cold. she slipped her clothes on like she was being held at gunpoint. you froze, watching, because, what else could you do?

once she was fully dressed, she took her camp necklace from where it’d been discarded on the floor—because, of course. she ran up to the vanity to tie the necklace back onto her neck. in the process, she looked at you from the mirror.

“you didn’t want to go to breakfast, right?” she fastened the necklace and ran to the door.

as you answered, she had wide eyes and her hand on the doorknob. “uh…no. no worries.” not like i have a choice now.

she opened the door. “see you arou—”

she was out before you could hear the entire statement.

you threw your hand to cover your face. out of everything you were expecting to happen on the off chance you and percy hooked up again, that was not it. in fact, you thought you’d be the one running—especially after the whole wine thing last night. but, you saw the way she looked out the window, her eyes drawn to the ocean. of course.

of course. it was destined to be that way. there was a reason the only way she’d ever get herself to stop talking about camp was by putting her life on it. you sighed. as you listened to her footsteps racing down, all you could wonder was how she lived like that.

⬿•☀️•⤳

“can i get the middle and ring fingers a little shorter than the others, please?” drew asked the nail tech.

the nail tech furrowed her eyebrows but nodded. thankfully, you’d pre-prepared the outfits for the double date, meaning all that was left was nails—and an everything shower that you were already dreading. but, it’d all be worth it, once you could cross off the entry written in huge bubble letters.

you looked to drew. “i was unfamiliar with your game.”

“femme tops are underrepresented.” she lowered her head. “speaking of, how was last night?”

the nail tech began to file your nails. you tried to gesture with your head that there were people around. drew widened her eyes in a way that meant something in between ‘so?’ and ‘just tell me.’ there was no way to tell any part of the night without sounding like a crazy person.

“it was really great.” you couldn’t help but smile just thinking about it. 

“okay. babe, you’re going to have to give me every explicit detail later. for now, i’ll settle for all about the date beforehand.”

right. the date beforehand. you started from the top, omitting the wine and the whole camp conversation. just thinking about those left a bad taste in your mouth.

“wow,” drew said. “okay, tomorrow’s going to go great, then. you two clearly hit it off.”

no point in hiding now. “not exactly. there may or may not have been two not-so-good moments that involved camp. because, of course. oh, and, everything that happened this morning.”

drew rolled her eyes. “elaborate.”

cold acetone coated your nails. “well, first of all, she bought us wine. and that was fully intentional. i could just see based on the look on her face when i drank it. and, unfortunately, it did work. i tried the wine and it was an experience.”

“good? bad?”

“great. i could taste every single note in it one by one. i could practically see the fruit. it was a literal trip.” you blew air from your mouth. “second, camp did end up being brought up, though. and, i don’t know, it could’ve gone much worse. we stopped talking about it almost as quickly as we brought it up.”

“but you two still ended up in your bedroom. i mean, it couldn’t have gone that badly.” drew shrugged.

“i guess not.”

you couldn’t help but share a laugh with her at that statement. for a moment, it was just the two of you, in a nail salon, preparing for a very important summer night in your lives. one you’d dreamed about and used to encourage each other many, many times. there was nothing to be ungrateful for. you’d finally made it.

“anyway, how are things with you and annabeth?” you jutted your chin to her nails. “i assume well, considering…”

drew smiled, a flush creeping onto her cheeks. “they’re going well. we’ve just been clicking more and more with every interaction we have. i’m hoping to seal the deal tomorrow night.”

what you wouldn’t give to have that with percy. a small pang of jealousy ran through your chest. enough. she was your best friend, she deserved for you to be happy for her. yet, you couldn’t shake that feeling.

drew sighed dreamily. “i’m going to get her flowers and everything. and then we’ll blink and be a graduated power couple in hollywood. i can see it, us meeting at the paramount lot, both having our respective jobs.”

as you listened to her describe this dream with annabeth, your heart swelled. drew deserved it. drew deserved the world and so much more. camp wasn’t kind to either of you, but she’d had it especially bad. 

but she’d get a happily ever after with annabeth, and that was what mattered. even if you didn’t get your own, seeing hers would make it all worth it.

“wait, what happened this morning?” drew asked, suddenly.

“oh, it’s nothing,” you said. no way you were going to ruin this moment.

drew gave you a suspicious look. “just tell me.”

you proceeded to fill her in, and at the end, all she could say was, “what the fuck?” 

“so, are you going to talk to her, or…?” she asked.

your stomach sunk. you could talk to her, theoretically. but if you did talk to her, anything could go wrong. and you needed her presence for the double date—even if she was completely silent. 

“i can’t.”

⬿•☀️•⤳ 

you gripped the railing with a superhuman strength. thanks to the humidity and rigorous positioning from the shower, every limb of your body was on the verge of collapsing. and while that would’ve been ideal right before bed, you were way too thirsty to shut your eyes.

midnight darkness loomed over the living room, but the massive white sectional sofa shined in the darkness. windows let in the sight of the nearby ocean, along with the sound of its slow ripples. you descended the stairs slowly.

something came into view. you squinted to get a better look at…percy, bathed in the light of her laptop screen. of course. of fucking course. because you’d managed to avoid talking to her all day, but it was tomorrow already. and the universe just had to.

your saliva thickened with thirst. you could sneak past her in silence, but that’d be creepy. but there was absolutely no way you could talk to her. the double date had to go well—after that, you’d work out what was going on. 

thankfully, whatever percy was doing clearly held her attention—her eyebrows were furrowed and she seemed to be biting her lip. the kitchen wasn’t far. you could do this.

you took the final step off the stairs. not sparing another look at her, you nonchalantly made your way to the kitchen. her keyboard clicked and clacked. the light switch was just to your side. if you were going to sneak past her, the least you could do is let her know who was there.

as soon as light bathed the kitchen, percy questioningly called your name. shit.

“hey,” you said, surveying the cabinet of glasses with an intensity you never had before. which one would keep the water the coldest? were these all bought from the same manufacturer? they were similar in shape. why did the owner of the house choose these shapes specifi—

“hi.”

you chose a random glass. the thirst was, in fact, not going away. percy clicked something. your own breathing was fragmented. she could speak again at any minute, and you were not ready. just keep it light, you reminded yourself.

obviously you wanted to understand what had happened that morning, the why. like what possesses anyone to ask ‘you didn’t want to go to breakfast, right?’ in that exact format. and what she would’ve done if you’d said yes to that. and why she’d ran. but no.

the water dispensed at a mockingly slow rate. you looked up at the ceiling. hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! your heart raced. 

tomorrow, percy could talk about camp the whole time, and it’d be fine. but the double date just couldn’t not happen. not after you’d looked forward to it for so long. it couldn’t go wrong. it absolutely could not. 

before you could stop yourself, you asked “what are you working on?” the words came out way more insulting than you hoped they would. but that was light enough. right?

the glass of water was just about half full, and you were honestly contemplating grabbing it and running. she had stopped typing. 

“just something for a job,” she said.

okay then. the glass was full enough. you took it. you stared at the fridge, ignoring the distant, distorted reflection of the white light coming from her laptop. 

“good luck.”

you turned to walk out of the kitchen, flipping the light off in the process. you brought the water to your lips as you continued forward. your pace was as fast as your tired limbs would let you. 

as you hit the first step, percy answered, “thanks.”

[lotusstarlet]

i found a second wind

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 3.0k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF. fade to black (at the very end of this chapter), suggestive themes, swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 (current) / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

the four of you sat on surfboards, your livelihoods at the mercy of the waves. an afternoon sun warmed your backs. everyone had fallen into idle chatter. surfing was one of the many entries on your list. after this, you’d be about a third of the way through. every entry was a day of the summer you’d deserved for all of the time you wasted at camp.

camp. stupid camp. you rejoined the moment, the woman next to you quickly drawing your attention.

percy brought her legs to her board and slowly stood up. water glossed her toned calves. effortlessly, she positioned one leg in front of the other on the board. this girl really trusted the ocean.

you hadn’t even realized your heart—and something lower—was pulsing all the while you looked at her. you blinked awake. 

“okay, who’s next?” percy asked.

no one moved. annabeth sighed. “i’ll try.”

she also somehow managed to stand up with a surprising lack of effort. percy had to catch her once, causing your chest to pang, oddly. no way you were getting jealous. not yet. meanwhile, you and drew looked over at each other from your opposite sides of the line. after a second-long staring contest, she rolled her eyes. annabeth helped her up.

you took a breath. “here goes literally everything.”

you brought both of your feet to the surfboard and slowly pushed yourself up. the waves rocked the board below you. your calves shook. just as you were about to tumble, you felt an arm wrap around your middle.

“i’ve got you,” percy said.

tingles of deja vu flooded your body. you could practically hear the bass bouncing off the walls, smell the alcohol, and see that dumb necklace hanging from her neck. shit. she handed you her other hand, not even as an offer. you’d justify this to yourself later. 

“reach your hands out like this.” keeping an arm around your middle, she slowly reached your joint arms forward, like a tango. you mirrored and put your other one behind you. your heart raced in a way you’d blame on the fitness.

“there.” percy grinned and let go of you. “see, you’re doing so good.”

you were not about to let this woman drive you speechless. “thanks.”

in your peripheral, annabeth and drew had disappeared. shit. okay. once again, here goes everything. you looked over to percy. ignoring the way the ocean breeze lifted her hair, or the way her eyes camouflaged into the water, or the way she somehow had the physique to stand completely steady, you said the first thing that came to mind.

make that the second. “so, when did you learn how to surf?”

“i didn’t,” she said. “i skate sometimes.”

what? you stumbled but readjusted yourself. the tempo of the waves got progressively easier. so she did have something outside of camp. 

“oh shit. even during the school year?”

“on breaks. uh, only when i’m home.”

that stupid part of you thought about asking more, like what else she did when she was on breaks, or where she lived, or when she learned to skate. if you weren’t going to be strangers, technically, you had a reason to ask that stuff. but, before you could, your legs started to cramp.

“how about you?” she asked.

“like…my hobbies?” no, when you learned to surf. you mentally kicked yourself. 

“yeah.”

“uh—” your cramping legs surrendered, and you sat down on the board. “i’m super into film. watching it, studying it.”

percy’s eyes studied you for a moment. “you don’t get sick of it?”

you blinked. sometimes percy said things that reminded you that, at the end of the day, she was an undecided major with zero film experience who you recruited to be your first AD in the dining hall.

you chuckled. “um, obviously not? it’s not like they’re ever going to stop making movies.”

“you never know.” she elbowed you.

“i’m just about certain.” you elbowed her back.

off her board, she toppled into the water. you grimaced. okay, maybe you put too much emotion into that. way too much. a few seconds passed. she didn’t come up.

“percy?” you shouted. “shit, are you okay?”

the water was still and silent, having swallowed her up like it was nothing. your heart dropped. it wasn’t supposed to be like that. it was just a minor elbow, a joke. she’d just done it and it didn’t make you topple over. it wasn’t like that. and, yet…

“percy?” you submerged your hand to wave at her.

suddenly, percy pushed up from the water and onto her board, far from where your hand was. she rested her forearms on the surface as the rest of her body floated in the water. “missed me?”

oh, of course. of course. you narrowed your eyes at her. “what the fuck is your problem? and, no, i didn’t miss you, i just wasn’t interested in facing your mom in court.”

percy straddled her board. her hair was soaking wet, dripping onto the board, sticking to her skin. she gave you a once-over. “she’d like you…” she tilted her head. “just on the merits of you being a demigod.” 

and there it was. even if it was a joke, it didn’t change anything, or reduce the reminder of camp. she had a pavlovian influence over you with that stupid word now. your stomach sunk. you laid down on your board.

“i’m going to head back.” you started to paddle forward.

you didn’t look back once. once you reached the shore, you got up, dragging your board with you. annabeth and drew were just starting to head back as well.

and, unfortunately, so was percy. she arrived shortly after. worry was written all over her face, her plump lips downturned into a slight frown. she stood a little farther from you than you’d hoped. it was a little difficult to be mad at her when she looked like that. man, you wished you were strangers.

“i’m sorry.” she clutched her board. “can i please take you out again? i’m willing to swear on the styx that i won’t bring up camp.”

you groaned. “did you do that just to get me to pity you?”

“no.”

this woman would be the death of you. if not directly, then by the consequences from that oath you knew she’d break. you gave her a look. up until that moment, it was like she was the exact version of her you’d dreamt of since that night. the one that you clicked with at the party. and, maybe, just maybe, if she would keep her oath, it’d be doable. 

but how many more chances could you give her? one more wouldn’t be too bad, right? especially under that condition. a thought popped in your head. if you were going to do this, why not kill two birds with one stone? 

“okay. under one condition. all four of us have to go on a double date. oh, and, this date better not be another walk where we act like strangers.”

percy nodded. “settled. and it won’t be a walk.” she looked over your shoulder. “give annabeth and i the house for two hours. when you get back, i’ll have everything set up.”

“you’re genuinely terrible at surprises. but, okay.”

percy winked before walking off to annabeth. what the hell had you just gotten yourself into? meanwhile, you headed for drew, who met you halfway.

“do you happen to know a way to kill off two hours?”

⬿•☀️•⤳

“i gave it a 3.5 on letterboxd,” you said.

you and drew walked down the sidewalk, sandwiched between two of cape may’s most beautiful views—victorian houses on your left and the ocean on your right.

“you gave legally blonde a 3.5?” drew balked. “are you one of those people who spends the entire movie thinking of a funny one-liner review, too?”

“i don’t leave reviews on anything i don’t have a lot to say about. and, when i do, i put some effort into them. so, no, they aren’t just one-liners, thank you.”

drew chuckled, but it quickly faded. she elbowed you. “look up.”

you followed her line of sight to see percy sitting on the patio. she smiled once you met her eyes. on the table was a box of pizza and a bottle of red wine. string lights illuminated the wood. with a perfect warmth radiating from the nearby summer sunset, your stomach filled with butterflies.

“don’t forget to ask annabeth about the double date,” you whispered.

drew whispered back, “don’t worry about that right now.”

she walked past you and into the house. as soon as the door clicked shut, the air thickened.

okay. so this was happening. your real, romantic date with percy was happening. it wasn’t some rushed or passing interaction, and it sure as hell wasn’t one two strangers would have. you tried to steady your thoughts as you went up the stairs.

you sat down on the other chair of the tiny patio table, inhaling the savory steam sneaking out from the pizza box. “it took you a whole two hours to set this up?”

percy shrugged. “it’s a long story.”

“and we have a long time.”

“fine.” percy shook her head. “annabeth had to go invisible to get us this”—she picked up the bottle of red wine by its neck—”which took about half an hour of convincing. then we had to wait for pizza, which was the rest of the time.”

you chuckled, settling further into your seat.

“damn,” you said. “well, you do look great for someone who did all of that.”

unfortunately, it was the truth. she wore a navy halter top paired with simple denim shorts. her hair flowed down, completely dry now. her camp necklace hung just where the neckline broke. your heart raced as you remembered the first time you saw her necklace on her bare skin. 

percy smiled. “wow. that means a lot, coming from you.”

“i have my moments.”

for a moment, there was nothing but the sounds of the waves and beachgoers in the distance. it was hard not to drown them out with percy in front of you. 

percy’s gazed explored you. a hot tingle started to spread through your limbs. yeah. this was not happening, not yet. matter of fact, not at all. but if it did, you had to at least take her to dinner first. you both got through three drinks at the party before even thinking about leaving for your dorm. 

you cleared your throat. “so, which are we trying first?”

“your choice,” percy said. you could’ve sworn her pitch dipped into some innuendo, but you refused to entertain that thought further.

“i guess the wine.” you picked up the bottle and the opener. “i’ve actually never had it before, so i want a clean palette. do people under, like, 25 actually drink wine?”

percy parted her lips but closed them before she could speak. meanwhile, you removed the cork from the bottle. the smell of fresh grapes with a hint of something else wafted up from the tiny opening—something layered that you’d be sure to smell completely.

“you’ve never tried any kind of wine? not even at a party or somewhere else?”

you poured percy the first glass. the shiny red wine darkened the reflected sunset. you moved onto yours. “uh, no. what kind of college parties are you going to that serve wine?”

percy pursed her lips. “now that you mention it, i’ve actually never been to any.”

you placed the bottle back on the table. picking up the stem of your wine glass, you raised it in the air. “let’s cheers to that.”

“cheers.”

carefully, you tipped the glass towards your lips. wine flowed onto your tongue. as soon as it hit, an eruption of flavors coated your tastebuds.

cherries, fresh from the tree and dripping with juice came first. a ripe plum came second. then, the fanciest, foreign-roast coffee beans drew would know all about and a bite of dark chocolate that made that satisfying ‘crack.’ it ended with a hint of something herby.

you eyed the wine glass suspiciously. if wine was that much of an experience, there was no way you could keep it around you.

“was it that good?” percy asked, her tone only slightly teasing.

“yeah, actually. it was really layered.” your voice was dreamy as you recalled it. “how’d you like it?”

percy shrugged. “i thought it was okay. just tasted red to me.”

just tasted red? how could anyone use the word ‘just’ in a description of that wine? you’d never had an experience like that—not with a person or a place, let alone a beverage. you blinked.

and as you saw the small smirk on her face, it all clicked. every piece of it. she could’ve gotten any other drink, but she chose wine. of course she chose wine! because it was all camp and demigods all the time. you sighed to yourself.

wait…your powers. had you just used your powers? or had they used you? what was any of that, actually? that’d just happened, naturally, with zero effort. it didn’t feel anything like how you expected it to. in fact, it felt so much better. but you’d never do it again. of course not. 

…right?

this is exactly what percy would want me to think, you thought to yourself. if you said something, she’d win, technically. percy opened the pizza box. you didn’t cast a single look to her—even if you wanted nothing more but to see if her lips were stained with wine.

“when did you get into film?” percy asked, taking a slice.

you took a slice. you could do this. this was the normal date you’d wanted all along.

“i’ve always loved film.” you took a quick bite of the fresh, still hot pizza. “but, i got really into it in middle school, when i googled the best films ever and found taxi driver at the top of every list.

“i watched it and was really disgusted at most parts. but as soon as it ended, and i really thought about it, i realized that was actually the point. scorsese wanted us to feel the same disgust that travis felt. it was so subliminal while also being right in your face, and i just admired that. so, i tried to study film as much as i could, from that point on. senior year, i directed a student film. so, yeah.”

percy had placed her chin in her hand as you talked. she had a tiny upward curve on her lips, and her eyes were intently on you. a warmth spread across your face, and, honestly, your whole body. you took a bite of the pizza in hopes of cooling yourself down. 

“that’s so sweet,” she finally said. “this year’s film must’ve been a dream, then.”

you blinked. “in a way, yeah. i mean, i’d been working towards it for such a long time, and it finally got screened at a festival. i guess it could’ve been sooner, if i hadn’t wasted so much time at camp.”

shit. you did not mean to say that out loud. your chest sunk. the distant ocean waves were all you could hear. no retort? no jokes? just…silence? percy shifted in her seat.

“do you miss camp? like, at all?” her question surprisingly lacked judgment.

you’d walked right into that. again. damn. maybe the river styx would get you instead of her. you took a quick sip of your wine before answering with a confident, “no.”

percy sloshed the wine in her glass, a furrow between her eyebrows. your pulse thumped against your ears. if this conversation went any deeper, it’d ruin everything about this moment.

she took a sip of her wine and straightened. “wait, so what do you like about film?” 

you hummed. “do you want my director answer or my real answer?”

disdainfully, you cast a glance down to her lips. they were, in fact, stained with red. the residue was clearly sticky—meaning, if you’d kissed her, you’d not only taste the grapes, but it’d be st—

“both.”

you straightened your posture. “my director answer is because you always get a redo. my real answer is probably, i don’t know, the community? it’s really hard to be a solitary filmmaker. or enjoyer, even.”

“huh. that makes a lot of sense.” percy smiled, and you hated how beautiful it was, glowing underneath the golden string lights.

“fuck off.” you waved a hand at her.

percy chuckled. a set of butterflies summoned in your stomach. this was just like the last time you were together—sharing a drink, sitting next to each other outside. you cast another look at her. the navy complimented all of her so, so well. part of you thought about kissing down, touching on every inch of exposed skin.

she met your eyes as they came up. then, her eyes took essentially the same path as your own. every place they trailed sent a jolt of heat with it. she leaned closer, wetting her lips.

the wine bottle still sat in the middle of the table. the pizza was only half-eaten, and the glasses full. it wasn’t a good idea. none of this was. but you found yourself gradually breaking the space between you two.

percy took a sip of her wine. you watched as her necklace-lined throat bobbed, your whole body tingling with a stinging heat. after, she bowed her head and softly asked, “do you want to go upstairs?”

and despite everything your brain brought up to remind you of your past, you said, “yes.”

you took a quick sip of your wine, remembering how every flavor felt. you both stood up. she placed a warm hand on your hip, and before you knew it, pulled you into a kiss. her lips were soft and sticky. the taste of wine lingered on them. as her body pushed and pulled against yours, and her hands ran all along your skin, the only flavor you could conjure was: red.

somehow keeping you against her, she walked you both to the door. you managed to make it all the way upstairs to your bedroom without breaking the kiss once. 

as percy laid you onto the bed, you continued to savor the taste of the wine. maybe your powers could somehow tattoo the taste and every feeling with it into your memory.

[lotusstarlet]

i thought i was left for dead

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 1.2k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF. suggestive themes and swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 / 2 / 3 (current) / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

strangers with percy. you could do this.

or, at least, that’s what you told yourself. as you took the first steps onto the trail, you abandoned everything about that night with them. tall trees surrounded you, their branches parting to let in the rays of the noon sun. 

you had this whole walk of officially being a stranger, and you had to somehow fill the silence—the same silence that made both of you down your waterbottles on the way there. speaking of, you tossed the empty plastic between your hands. if you were going to be strangers, there was one thing you could get away with…

“it’s impossible to find a trashcan around here,” you said.

percy fidgeted with her own bottle. “yeah.”

you didn’t pray often, but this date might make you start. “that seems kind of counterproductive. like, wouldn’t they not want people to litter?”

percy nodded at your statement, her sunglasses bobbing against her nose. a cringe squeezed in your chest. it was so silent that you could literally hear the waterbottle crinkling each time it hit your palm. 

this was not at all how you were hoping it went. sure, you were supposed to be strangers, but even strangers were more talkative than this. and just because you were strangers didn’t mean you weren’t director and AD. well, now that you thought about it, if that night had never happened, you technic—

you forced your gaze upwards to the branches. where exactly was the bird chirping coming from? and which birds were doing it? you continued forward blindly. all you could see were ones you’d already known—like the occasional robin or blue jay. nothing special nor serious.

your neck started to ache. you’d never wanted more than to just scream, this isn’t going to work! 

“we got a good day for the walk,” percy said. part of you wanted to drop to the ground and raise your hands to rejoice. “warm, but not humid.”

“yeah.”

the path curved as you approached a pond. with the empty waterbottle in hand, there was still no trashcan to be found. the pond rippled around you in a calm, summer afternoon flow.

as tempting as it was to just admit that you couldn’t do this, you refused. this is what you wanted, to never talk about camp. there was nothing bad about this situation. hell, your past self would be thanking you!

“wait, there’s ducks.” percy broke the silence.

you both walked over to the railing, leaning against the sun-warmed wood. in the distance, a group of baby ducks swam. the tiny bundles of yellow fur streaked with brown glowed under the sunlight. they followed close behind their parents. one of them in particular was incredibly behind. 

“look at the one that’s behind,” you said.

“aww.”

you and percy—well, her sunglasses—made eye contact for a short second. in that moment, you realized your proximity. strangers, you reminded yourself. but if percy were a stranger, and you were in this exact situation, you’d probably, who knows, kiss her? but she wasn’t. because a stranger wouldn’t have that necklace.

wait, what were you doing?

“we should probably keep walking,” you said.

before you could make an excuse, percy restarted walking. questions flurried in your mind. did you wish percy was a stranger? wouldn’t it make things easier, after all? if you and her never spent that night together. maybe you’d be able to overlook the whole…necklace thing.

well, maybe not, you thought to yourself as the wooden path curved in front of you. as you progressed, your arm brushed against percy’s. your heart raced. like an idiot, you looked over to her. she parted her lips to say something, but stopped. 

“sorry,” percy said.

you focused on your waterbottle, trying to ignore the sparks flooding your limbs from that simple touch. that shouldn’t have been nearly as big of a deal as it was.

in your peripheral, a small smile spread onto her lips. “sorry, stranger.” 

your chest eased. “no worries, stranger.”

through the end of the trail, surrounded by trees, you two didn’t speak. but, it was easier on the way out than on the way in. birds chirped and ran along the leaves. 

“finally, a fucking garbage can.” you groaned, tossing the bottle into the opening. it landed.

percy removed her sunglasses before tossing hers. 

⬿•☀️•⤳

“i’ll wash,” you said.

“i’ll dry.” drew started stacking the plates.

you joined her. the smell of grilled chicken with a hint of lemon lingered in the dining room and kitchen. every plate was licked clean—even the serving plates. the vegetable and rice sides were all demolished.

“i’ll wipe down the table,” annabeth said, slowly standing up.

drew held up her free hand. “we’ve got it. you literally cooked.”

“we cooked together.”

after a beat, percy stood. “it’s fine. i’ll do it.”

annabeth walked to sit in the living room, fighting a smile. drew and her ways. that wasn’t the first time they’d shared a moment over dinner. in fact, the whole dinner was filled with moments—even between you and percy.

well, sort of. you rinsed the dishes, looking out at the backyard-facing window dreamily. anything was a moment with percy after whatever that disaster of a walk was. every second of eye contact filled that void.

though, she hadn’t talked to you directly. you may’ve spoken after she did, and she may’ve done the same, but she never asked you any questions. in her defense, you hadn’t, either. you weren’t officially strangers. no one had said that or even implied it. but were you really supposed to act like friends? two friends who had zero history together?

the water turned scorching. you winced, turning it colder. there had to be a spot between complete strangers and, well, whatever you two were. the spot had to include interactions of some kind, right?

what had percy turned you into? maybe you really were a stranger—to yourself, at least. okay, but anyone could admit that the difference was difficult. like, that night could exist and mean nothing. it didn’t have to be a big dea—

“are we doing anything tomorrow?” percy asked from the dining room. 

we? as in, us? you parted your lips to answer. thankfully, drew spoke before you could.

“no.”

annabeth echoed that. and you did, too, feeling a bit left out.

“would you guys want to go surfing?”

seeing percy in a swimsuit, probably all athletic, on a surfboard was not exactly your idea of a sweet spot between, well, anything. it strayed too far from the strangers side and too close to the history you’d shared. you paused your scrubbing, letting the cold water run down your fingers. someone else had to say something. no way you were answering that.

annabeth and drew thankfully said yes. 

“and you?” percy asked.

you looked back to her. “do any of us even know how to surf?”

percy smiled. “i could teach you. all of you, actually.”

that was the worst possible answer she could give you. was there any way to teach surfing without being, well, intimate? hands-on? a warmth summoned on your face at the thought. percy’s hands wandering along your sk—

drew elbowed you from where she dried dishes. oh, right. you rolled your eyes. “fine.”

very much not fine.

[lotusstarlet]

something's happening again

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 2.2k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF and LIGHT ANGST. suggestive themes and swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 / 2 (current) / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

the four of you gathered in the starting place for the scavenger hunt—washington street mall. you hadn’t exchanged a word with percy since the incident last night. even surrounded by shops painted loudly—in every color of the rainbow—and shouting passerbys, the silence was already thicker than you’d ever felt.

the app counted down. 3…2…1…

“go!” the voice said.

the first clue appeared on your screen: where was i filmed? i, “a complete unknown.” percy looked over to you. drew and annabeth had yet to set off. with zero interest in whispering the answer in her ear, you headed in the opposite direction. a sign had pointed to congress hall, straight ahead. percy followed you. once you’d passed a few shops, definitely out of their earshot, you spoke.

“i know this. it’s congress hall. i mean, it was filmed in a few other places, but that’s the main one.”

percy nodded. the two of you progressed, passing too many tempting window shopping opportunities. the silence continued. so much so that you caught a snippet of a couple play-fighting and a pit sunk in your stomach.

sure, last night wasn’t your best moment. but there was no way you were going to apologize, let alone be the first one to apologize.

you departed from the mall and into the streets of cape may. the big, banana colored congress hall towered in the distance. seagulls squawked above. the silence had only gotten more tense, especially when percy was right there, a constant reminder.

“how do you even know this?” percy asked. her voice sounded genuinely curious, and you couldn’t help the small smirk that formed on your face.

just as you were about to answer, you stopped yourself. because she clearly couldn’t be trusted with any details about camp—including the list—there was no way you were being direct. 

“i’ve always wanted to visit a place a movie was filmed. so, when i found out we were coming to cape may, i googled to see if any movies had been filmed here. a complete unknown was one of them. the only relevant one, actually,” you explained.

percy asked, “wait, what other ones were filmed here?”

“ones that i forgot about the second i closed the IMDb tab.”

percy chuckled. you couldn’t help but laugh with her. in those 30 seconds alone, she reminded you why you liked her in the first place. why you went on this vacation in the first place. when she wasn’t bringing up camp or staring at the ocean, she actually was a fun person to be around. well, considering where that night had led, maybe that wasn’t fully tr—

“i think we just take a selfie with the sign and we’re good.” you pulled out your phone, checking the app. those were, in fact, the instructions.

you and percy posed in front of the sign, with just enough distance between you. you clicked the photo. then, you stepped away, submitting it. the app gave you a star and let out a cute jingle.

you looked up at the large hotel, consisting of multiple levels of yellow walls and an old-fashioned, american-style architecture that made the name fitting. the tall white entrance was something literally right out of a film scene. you could picture the place surrounded with cameras, the director sitting in video village, the decorations being put up and taken down…you were here, stepping on the same ground real hollywood filmmakers had been on. maybe you’d be one of them someday. 

anyway, time to sacrifice every ounce of your pride. you took a breath. as slowly as you could, you navigated to your camera app. it opened to your reflection. okay. you could do this. 

“i hate to be this person, but could you take a picture of me here?” you extended your phone to her.

percy swallowed down a laugh. “sure.”

you went to pose right near the entrance. for whatever reason, no moment had felt more awkward. thankfully, percy was quick to flag you back. she handed you your phone, covering her smile with her hand. you swiped through them.

“we should’ve brought our DP for this,” she said.

“my AD did a perfectly good job.”

my AD? percy looked just as shocked. you grimaced, diverting your attention to your phone screen. why the actual hell had you said that? 

“three clues left,” you said.

⬿•☀️•⤳

a large, rusty structure that you were supposed to believe was once a functioning world war II boat floated a while off the shore. apparently, this was the boat that fought the same fight as one in a famous 2023 movie, that nolan can’t direct unless he has a sailing license. percy was already opening her camera app. according to the map, drew and annabeth were still two clues behind. considering how condensed the town was, sure, that wasn’t too far, but it was far enough.

just as percy reached her arm up, placing the two of you and the ‘boat’ in frame, you said: “they’re two clues behind. they kind of deserve a headstart.”

percy lowered her phone. “won’t they catch up?”

“i mean, they will, but…”

the past hour with her had made you forget all about the countless other hours you’d spent acting like she didn’t exist. she hadn’t brought up camp once, you hadn’t thought about camp once—well, maybe once or twice—and your conversation was normal. it was like you were a normal, mortal pair. 

so, when you passed the gift shop on your way in, the idea of spending a little extra time there with her didn’t seem half bad.

“…we could visit the gift shop in the meantime.”

the two of you started walking. percy said, “i’m kind of surprised you’re doing this. i thought you were going to be much more competitive than you actually are.”

you balked. “why?”

she shrugged, running a finger along the beads on her neck. “you just seem like it.”

you fought the urge to ask what does that mean? because, truly, what could it have possibly meant? as you two followed the rocky path, the windows of the gift shop were drained of their golden light. you cursed. a summer sunset reflecting on the glass meant only one thing...

“shit,” you said. “they closed. of course.”

percy blew air from her mouth. “damn.”

you two settled to go sit down on the beach, closer to the top. the white lighthouse and boat towered in the distance. you took your phone out. drew and annabeth hadn’t advanced at all, as to be expected. you could practically picture what was going on—drew taking them past famous victorian buildings, completely out of the way, just to listen to annabeth explain them. 

you placed your chin in your hand, looking down at the sand. drew was so, so lucky. her and annabeth had genuine chemistry. drew took her on this trip to see if they’d actually get together—into a serious, full-blown, committed relationship. they were much more mature with their future plans and normal adult lives.

though, if you had powers like them, you probably would’ve been doing the same. drew had charmspeak. she could probably land any PR pitch she wanted to. annabeth had a divine intelligence, which was perfect for anything she wanted to do. meanwhile, you were stuck with, what, changing grapes from green to purple?

you jolted from your thoughts. shit. why were you even thinking about camp in the first place? what, were you going to spend every silent moment like this? like percy? you had a beautiful sunset in front of you and an even more beautiful girl next to you. there were a boatload of opportunities here, and you were wasting all of them.

“the sunset’s really pretty,” you said, absentmindedly.

“yeah.” percy stared out at the ocean. her eyes had that faraway look in them. you could practically taste the burnt hot dogs and feel the smoke of the nearby bonfire against your skin. you could see the way her fingers grazed her necklace, and that exchange that’d followe—

“are you really still thinking about camp?” you asked.

percy placed her face in her palm, mirroring you. “i’m never not.”

you pursed your lips. there was no way. she’d been away from camp for a year and literally gone through college on a campus without a single quiet moment. “not even during, like, school? or midterms? ADing?”

she smiled, breaking out of her daze. “nope. you, out of everyone, should know that.”

your chest burned. you thought back to when the first thing you saw of percy was, in fact, her necklace. at a party, you’d tripped on a puddle of an unidentifiable alcoholic substance and an anonymous arm had caught you. if only you had simply thanked her and walked away... but, no, that quick contact of her skin on yours was enough to send you in the wrong direction.

you thought of saying, actually, you seemed pretty normal on set, hence the reason we’re even here in the first place. but before you could, both of your phones dinged. on your homescreen was a notification stating…

“shit, they’re close.”

you shot up from the ground. the boat couldn’t quite fit in frame from here. so, all you and percy had to do was take a few steps forward. but starting onto the sand was drew and annabeth. phones out and ready.

shit. without thinking, you grabbed percy’s hand, pulling her from the ground. you’d debrief that with your dignity later. “we have to run.”

as you ran, her hand had a surprisingly strong grip around yours. you took out your phone. meanwhile, your foot skidded on something hard, and you tumbled.

percy caught you. she brought you two to running again. you hated the way your heartbeat spiked at that. she always caught you. she caught you in that kitchen, on the drunk walk home from that party and to your dor—

the movement stopped. you suddenly were back in reality. you snapped a selfie, your faces showcasing your mutual exhaustion. then, you submitted it to the app. your screen displayed confetti and a #1 trophy.

percy raised her hand for a high five. drew and annabeth approached. reluctantly, you highfived. whatever. you deserved to enjoy the victory. plus, that was the least intimate physical contact you’d ever shared with her. drew almost collapsed onto her knees. meanwhile, annabeth looked completely unfazed.

“you two cheated,” drew said.

percy chuckled. “regardless, you two losers are buying us ice cream.”

⬿•☀️•⤳

the four of you sat at a table outside of an ice cream parlor. you were stuck next to percy—all because drew insisted on being close to annabeth so they could spoon feed each other. man, the things you did for your friend. you took a spoonful of your own ice cream.

next to you, percy licked her blue raspberry cone—because where did this woman go that blue didn’t follow? her lips closed around a spoonful. their pink contrasted against the blue in a way that should be studied by artists. almost like a beautiful summer sunset. your heart raced, matching a pulse much lo—

“something on your mind?” percy asked, jolting you out of your daze.

you fought the urge to groan on the off-chance she’d interpret that as being aroused. “no.”

percy tilted her head. “it just seemed like you were staring at me or something.”

“and?” you took another scoop of your ice cream. the flavor had gone away, but you didn’t care.

“and it felt…familiar.”

even if you were staring at her, it wasn’t like it was any secret you were attracted to her. why would you have brought her on the trip with you? why would you have thought of her so often? why else would you give her any attention? and why would that night have even happened? you slumped in your seat.

“okay, look, can we please just forget about that night?”

percy paused for a beat, then she said, “if that’s what you want, sure.” 

obviously it’s what i want. you squinted at her. something about her was impossible to take seriously, and you couldn’t quite pinpoint what. “i have a hard time believing you’re going to hold yourself to that.”

percy took another spoonful of her ice cream, not responding. of course she’d delay. typical her. after swallowing it, the corners of her lips twitched upward.

“i’ll prove it to you. we can go out, just us two, and we’ll just be strangers again.” 

you paused your spoonful of ice cream mid-air. out of everything you were expecting her to say, that wasn’t one of them. you cast a look over to drew and annabeth as if they’d help you. they were too immersed in sharing their ice cream. of course. and it definitely didn’t help that percy looked somewhat satisfied with herself.

was entertaining this—even in the slightest—a good idea? no. yet, you couldn’t help yourself. “where would you even take me?”

“how about we just go on a walk?”

a walk? for a first date? you tapped the handle of your spoon. was percy abnormally annoying? yes. was she also abnormally hot? yes. it wasn’t like you didn’t want to go on a date with her. after all, a summer fling was on your list. and a double date—which, if you didn’t do this, would be really awkward.

maybe she could be a decent person to hang out with when she wasn’t constantly bringing camp up. no, she was. you’d never smiled more with her than on the way to congress hall, where you two were just normal, mortal people, who talked about normal, mortal things. 

“fine.”

percy smiled fully this time. “it’s a date.”

you sighed. “it’s a date.”

[lotusstarlet]

up and left me on the beach

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ fem!percy jackson x cabin 12!fem!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ it's your first summer away from camp half-blood and your first one in cape may. you and drew have a list of everything you'll do to make it your best—yours including a summer fling with percy. with a mutual memory of a wonderful night, you can already feel a second wind approaching.

but, as you check off the entries, you realize camp will stay in the way of everything and everyone you've ever wanted.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 2.2k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF and LIGHT ANGST. suggestive themes and swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 (current) / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

in just a matter of minutes, every second spent suffering at camp half-blood would be worth it.

…but it could’ve been sooner.

you’d finally managed to get your film on a big screen. but you could’ve been here earlier if you’d spent your summers studying film. you were late to the party. that’s just what being a demigod—

“nope,” you mouthed to your reflection. why on earth were you thinking about camp? let alone in a movie theater bathroom?

just down the hallway, you’d be presenting the film you’d directed. this was the moment you’d been working towards. there was no point in dwelling on the past. not right now.

you washed your hands before setting off.

the theater doors parted, revealing a podium near the screen. your podium. you rolled your shoulders back, straightening your posture. your film was about to change lives—even if just for its twenty minute duration. to savor that, you fixed your gaze straight ahead on your short walk there.

you stepped behind the podium. moment of truth. every time you’d imagined it, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house—all of them occupied by a large and enthusiastic audience that’d make the tedious labor of filmmaking worth it.

your film would finally be taken seriously. your life would finally be taken seriously. 

taking a breath, you looked up. 

half of the seats were empty. the audience was scattered amongst single seats, the gaps obvious. but, there was one row that was filled—holding the tiny cast and crew of your student film. you waved at them, unable to keep from smiling.

your best friend and main actress drew sat next to your set designer annabeth. next to her was percy, and after that was the rest of the cast and crew. percy caught your eye. she was your first assistant director, a.k.a. every director’s favorite person on set. you’d watched dailies with her, taken and given instructions from her, and basically relied on her to make your vision happen. somehow, she did.

and the next vision she’d make happen was the summer fling you’d dreamt of for years. 

you cleared your throat. “hello everyone!” you introduced yourself. “i’m the director of this film. i just wanted to thank all of you for coming, and i hope you enjoy.”

the tiny audience burst into claps, the sound indistinguishable a full house. that part was exactly like the daydream. you skipped up the rows. percy nodded to the empty seat next to her, and butterflies summoned in your stomach as you sat down.

the lights dimmed and the screen blinked on. but all that mattered was percy, smiling at you.

“good job,” she said.

“thank you.” because, somehow, those words meant a lot, coming from her.

the title card showed up. “slate in,” percy whispered.

as soon as the second shot came, you said, “action.”

⬿•☀️•⤳

you, drew, annabeth, and percy sat around a small campfire on the beach. flames cracked and popped, sending sparks into the air. at the horizon, the sun shone its last-hour-light on the atlantic ocean. the four of you fastened hot dogs onto roasting forks.

“cheers to a normal summer!” you raised your fork.

everyone brought the hot dogs to the center of the fire, echoing the cheers. then the roasting began. drew’s nose lightly crunched at the sight. your hot dog caught aflame, the outside slowly darkening. 

“i can’t believe this film is over,” annabeth said. “feels like we’ve been working on it forever.”

drew let out a sigh of relief. “tell me about it. i’m so glad i’m only doing PR work from now on. i’m never getting in front of a camera ever again.” 

everyone chuckled. like the majority of the cast, drew was only in her position out of urgency. you didn’t know anybody else the day you got the assignment. so, you begged your best friend to forget her major and be your main character. now you had to hope it’d go on next year.

“are you guys taking professor smith’s sophomore classes?” you asked.

drew shook her head. annabeth shook her head. you looked to percy. your heart thumped against your eardrums. please, please, pleeasee… after a second, she shook her head. 

“damn. i can’t be on set without at least one of you. please.”

and by that, you meant percy. you had no idea how you were going to function without percy as your AD. you’d gotten so used to what you had on set—your distinct yet intertwined workflows and a shared vision. and, of course, having to act like a certain night never happened.

you sighed, taking your hot dog from the fire. 

“i won’t be on set, but i’m down to be the social media manager.” drew also took her hot dog from the fire.

you smiled at that. hot dog buns were passed around. after adding condiments, you all started to eat. drew and annabeth had fallen into talking about internships. right. they had everything about their lives and their careers figured out at 19. 

meanwhile, all you could think about was summer, and how this exact moment was one of the many things on your dream summer list. the beach bonfire was the first addition to the list. and here you were. living it. you took a bite of your hot dog just to savor that reality. one entry out of many crossed off. your summer fling would be next, and the double date would be after that.

speaking of, percy looked gorgeous, sitting on the other side of the fire and bathed in its light. she wore a cami top in a blue indistinguishable from the near water, paired with denim shorts. her eyes had been set on the ocean ever since you got here. her hair was lifted by a salty breeze. you took a breath. this summer fling wasn’t going to happen just by sitting on your ass. 

you moved to sit next to her. once you were closer, you could lightly smell the ocean on her. it’d followed her around no matter where she went. and it never failed to lapse you right back to the night you met—the same night you and her agreed to never bring up again.

“which film was your favorite?” you asked.

percy peeled her eyes away from the ocean. she traced a small circle in the sand. “that one road trip comedy.”

okay, you were getting somewhere. “mine was the second one we saw. it reminded me of taxi driver, which automatically made it great. obviously.”

she furrowed her eyebrows. “what’s taxi driver?”

oh, bless her heart. you couldn’t stifle your laugh. percy laughed with you, the cute furrow never leaving her eyebrows. “hold on. you’ve been on a film set and you’ve never seen taxi driver?”

she held her hot dog-free hand up. “i hadn’t heard about it until now.”

“what have you been doing all your life?”

“camp.” right. your chest tensed. “school, usual stuff,” she quickly added.

she set her hot dog on a paper plate, resting her head against her knees, her eyes back on the ocean. you took a resetting bite of your hot dog. okay, it didn’t have to be like that night. you two didn’t have to talk about camp. there was plenty else to talk about. just a passing mention, that’s all it was.

“right. at least we have more time now. like, a film a day time.”

percy nodded slowly. “yeah.” after a few seconds, she added: “but i feel like i’ll never stop missing it.”

maybe it would turn out exactly like that night. your posture slouched. camp really had a way of making everyone feel bad for it—like children and teenagers were supposed to feel obligated to defend a bunch of eternal gods. and it also had a way of tainting this interaction with percy, unfortunately.

“what could you possibly miss about it? it was literally hell on earth. for me personally..” you tapped your fingers against the bun of your hot dog.

percy didn’t shift. okay, maybe a mistake. but after all of the dumb, drunken stuff you’d said to her that night, you had no choice but to tell her the truth. the real and sober truth. your chest eased. meanwhile, waves bubbled against the shore, the fire crackling behind you. 

“everything.” she tugged her camp necklace. “you really don’t miss it?”

“of course not.”

“that’s hard to believe.” she smiled, mostly to herself.

you knew what she was referencing and you weren’t going to give her the benefit of addressing it. she took a bite of her hot dog, mindless, still yet to look at you. the heat from the fire suddenly became overwhelming. you were drunk that night. drunk!

“nothing i said that night was true. i was drunk. and you brought it up. you literally set me up.”

percy shrugged, making eye contact. “if you insist. the whole ‘second chance’ thing just seemed a little too specific to be false.” 

how had you ever been attracted to this woman? maybe because she didn’t constantly act like this on set. there was that one off incident at the party, but—obviously—nobody is defined by the dumb stuff they say when drunk. if you had known percy hadn’t understood that, you would’ve never booked this trip in the first place. you mentally scolded yourself.

you raised your pitch to a mocking tone. “i definitely want a second chance at camp. you’re completely r—”

“guys?” drew interrupted. “do you remember the name of that one horror film with the group of girls in the mall?”

“forbidden fruits.” “forbidden fruits.” you and percy said simultaneously.

drew widened her eyes. “thanks…” she turned back to annabeth.

a silence found itself between you and percy, before she tilted her head and asked, “what were you saying?”

⬿•☀️•⤳

a cool breeze followed as you and drew parted from a beachside cafe. she carried a cupholder with everyone’s orders. from the bag in your hand, the smell of fresh croissants wafted up. if you could just be there, under the morning sun, walking along the beach, with delicious food in your hands, maybe it’d erase the memory of last night.

unfortunately, as you walked on, nothing changed. you sighed, but it came out like more of a groan. the entire point of getting drunk at a party was to forget everything that happened at said party. that applied to you and percy, but apparently didn’t work for either of you. did you have a power that could erase drunk memories? you reached your foot over the sidewalk to kick a small patch of sand.

“are you okay?” drew asked. “you’ve literally been angry since i asked you about forbidden fruits. and that was twelve hours ago.”

“yeah, it’s just…personal stuff.” you waved a hand.

drew stopped walking, and you did, too. she narrowed her eyes. “you know skinny dipping is on our list? like, we’re going to see each other naked, but i’m not on ‘personal stuff’ level?”

she wasn’t wrong. though, if you were going to speak, you at least had to have coffee. maybe the caffeinated version of the story would be less horrific. you took the drink from the cupholder and took a long gulp.

“okay.” you started walking again. “percy brought up that night last night.”

you two passed the first victorian house on your street. great. at least this would be over soon. drew said, “okay…what’d she say about it?”

“nothing. she just was like, ‘i find that hard to believe’ when i said i didn’t miss camp. and, sure, we were arguing before because she does miss it and makes it everyone else’s problem, but still.”

you took another sip of your coffee. the house was only getting closer and closer, meaning whatever was on your mind had to get out.

“i just…i should have never said a thing to her. because now she’s holding it against me, like ‘you’ll never get over that night.’ she’s going to think that i actually miss camp. and i don’t. i was drunk, for fuck’s sake.”

drew fought a smile. “in vino veritas.”

“shut up.” you nudged her arm. “anyway, there’s just no way this summer is going to work. she clearly gets a joy out of…doing that. and i can’t stand to be around her if she does.”

the crosswalk was approaching. what wouldn’t you do to erase that conversation. it wasn’t true; you didn’t miss camp. sure, you occasionally thought about it, but that didn’t mean anything.

“i’m sure you’re excited about the scavenger hunt today, then,” drew said.

the street hadn’t emptied yet, meaning there was still an opportunity to jump into the active traffic. you planted your feet on the sidewalk. shit. fuck your stupid, ambitious, gay life. when you were planning the trip, you’d found an online scavenger hunt, and of course you figured you’d team with percy. well…

you took out your phone and opened the scavenger hunt app. scrolling to the scheduled hunt, you looked for a cancel button.

drew tapped your elbow. you crossed the street. your airbnb was just seconds away. you scrolled down. both of your names and phone numbers were listed on team 1, drew and annabeth’s on team 2. a small piece of text on the bottom read All teams are final.

“fuck.” hopelessly, you tapped the names. nothing. they didn’t move, and were shaded. “fuck my life.”

you approached your victorian-style airbnb, stepping onto the first step. drew placed a hand on your shoulder. “hey, if anything, take it as an opportunity to, like, retry with her.”

“all she talks about is camp. she’s going to bring it up, i guarantee."

“you never know.”

[lotusstarlet]

we belong together

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ will solace x cabin 2!gn!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) percy takes you up on the offer for a loyalty blessing over his relationship. the only way hera will hand it over? if you manage to convince her that your best friend, will, is your boyfriend. with only a crammed week of 'rehearsing,' just how convincing can you get?

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 1.3k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF. injury mentioned

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 and 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 (current)

˚ʚ ꒰🗣️꒱ i am so sorry for the late upload!! i had a crazy week

beige curtains faded into view. the medicinal smell of essential oil came second. and will solace near the edge of your cot came third. the huge gash on your ankle that’d been patched up came fourth.

and fifth came the memory of kissing him.

“oh my gods,” you whispered.

will looked up. he handed you a square of ambrosia. an authoritative, concerned look was in his eyes. it looked annoyingly good on him. damnit. you took the ambrosia and fidgeted with it.

“here, take it,” he said.

you took a bite. it tasted exactly how it looked: like honey. like yellow, warm honey, fresh from a beehive. but then came an undertone of wax. and then they combined. there it was. there was that familiarity, will’s lips against yours. the way the kiss felt. and how stupid you were for doing that.

warm tears fell from your eyes. you finished the square in one bite. the wound may’ve been patched up, but you’d never felt more open. if that was your best memory… holy shit.

will furrowed his eyebrows. “what’s wrong?”

there was, once again, no point in hiding. “the ambrosia tasted like…the kiss.” you sighed. “i’m sorry.”

will’s face flushed, but now was not the time for butterflies. you just looked down. you were just like your mother. just like the mother who both of you may’ve missed your chance to meet. shit. right, like that mattered. maybe it was for a better if the blessing didn’t happen. you stared up at the ceiling.

“i don’t know what i was thinking. i didn’t want to see you with someone else,” you said. “it was so selfish of me.”

the edge of your cot dipped, and you looked to see will sitting there. he had a warm look in his eyes. he took in a breath. part of you wished you could brace for the impact with a shield of some sort, but there was nothing. so, you crossed your arms, digging your nails into your elbows.

“you won’t have to see me with someone else,” he said. “i like you. i was going to say that, but i obviously wasn’t going to decline a kiss.”

your entire body went hollow, like painless pins and needles. there was so much to unpack about what will said. you weren’t even sure where to start. with never seeing him with someone else? or that he likes you? or that he was going to say that? 

if he liked you, and you liked him, there was only one logical next step: kiss the man. but logic was the least of your worries. 

“really?” you asked.

will’s smile expanded as he nodded slowly. “yes, really.”

well then! a tear fell down your cheek. he moved closer to you, only by a little, but it still made your heart race. he took your hand. and as soon as his skin was against yours, your brain went fuzzy. you flashed a glance at his lips. gods, did you miss them.

but your mother. you’d be meeting her soon. you’d fall for him and ruin everything again. but, as you looked at his lips, all of that was gone. fuck it.

before you could go any further, will pulled your face towards where he laid on your chest and kissed you. you smiled into the kiss. even though having him against you sent way too many sensations to deal with, all you could focus on was the ones coming from his lips. the way they pushed and pulled and softly brushed against yours. when he pulled away, he smiled.

“i know it’s a little early for this, but can i meet your mom?” will asked.

↞•🦚•↠

being in the same bed as will was far more awkward than you’d dreamed of it being. your head rested on his chest, his arms wrapped around you. his heartbeat was obvious. it seemed faster than usual. part of you wanted to chalk that up to attraction. wait a second, you could, now! you smiled to yourself at that. will squirmed at the feeling.

soon enough, you both fell asleep. until you woke up to the smell of water lilies. seeing the same sky, the same marble, and the sight of your mother made you realize where you were. your mother sat on her golden throne, in her white dress, holding her lotus staff. a sharp ray of light glinted off the gold. 

will was next to you, holding your hand. his palm was sweaty despite the overly calm smile on his face. you knew that smile from miles away. you knew it was anything but truthful. giving his hand a squeeze, you carefully ascended the small set of stairs, stopping just a bit away from your mother.

“hi, honey,” she said. “who’s this?” she gave will a once-over.

“will solace, your majesty,” he said.

you would’ve laughed in any other circumstance. hera smiled coldly, of course she did. “respectful. good choice.”

will’s grip on your hand softened. even you let out a sigh of relief. so far so good. until hera adjusted in her seat.

“so, willliam, what are your intentions with my child?” she asked.

he cleared his throat and straightened his posture. damn, he seemed familiar with this. “to be by their side in everything.”

“and provide utmost loyalty, yes?” she raised a threatening eyebrow.

“of course,” he said, his voice steady.

“good choice. so, this is the loyalty blessing, for both you and percy…” she said that to both you and will. “will, you don’t have any intention of befriending that…” she snarled. “boy, do you?”

he shook his head. “never have, never will.”

you suppressed a snort. hera’s head slowly moved to look at you. you immediately straightened your own posture. she gave you yet another lethal once-over. what on earth was she about to ask? with a gulp that may as well have echoed, you waited. 

“good. now, y/n, has he been loyal and only loyal? don’t lie to me. you’re safe here.”

that was the first time in your life that your mother had ever said anything reassuring, and you weren’t sure how to feel. your chest still ached. will didn’t move.

“yes. always has been.”

she nodded. “good. i’ll bless everyone. goodbye.”

and you two were right back in your bed. before you could speak, you kissed each other, then shortly fell back to sleep.

↞•🦚•↠

you and will sat on the infirmary couch. as soon as you both woke up, he told you he had something to show you. you hoped it wasn’t a ring. there was no way to know for sure, especially after getting the blessing. he dug through a folder of documents before pulling one out. there, on top, was your name.

“incident report,” will started.

you fought a laugh, sitting up. “hit me.”

“name: y/n. cabin: hera. date: yes, apparently. time: evening. injury type is…” he pointed his forehead at you. “guess.”

“cutting my ankle open?”

he laughed. “other: running after our first kiss.”

you gave him a light slap on his arm, rolling your eyes. “don’t even tell me the incident details. please.”

“i fear i have to. ahem.” he cleared his throat and flicked the paper like an old man. “gave me the best kiss ever, then ran for their life.”

“sounds like me,” you said.

“it gets better. passed out, forced me to carry them to the infirmary and lay them down. ate ambrosia and realized their best memory was that kiss, proving my point. best patient ever.”

you shook your head. but as your imagination played that, your chest fell soft. gods, you’d do anything to remember it. even if you were bleeding, something about being carried across camp by will was… unreal.

“signed, will solace,” he said.

“you are so stupid,” you said.

“you love it. anyway, just so you know, i fully intend on making much better memories with you so that can be replaced.”

you fake gasped. “william andrew solace.”

he threw his hands up. and, you laughed. “i’d love it.”

[lotusstarlet]

aperture lets the light in

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ will solace x cabin 2!gn!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) percy takes you up on the offer for a loyalty blessing over his relationship. the only way hera will hand it over? if you manage to convince her that your best friend, will, is your boyfriend.

with only a crammed week of 'rehearsing,' just how convincing can you get?

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 2.7k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ MOSTLY ANGST. injury mentioned

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 and 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (current) / 6

why was your cabin at a 90° angle? your limbs buzzed with pins and needles. placing your arms below you, you tried to push yourself up. and flopped right back down. 

“shit,” you mumbled.

you tried again. success. wiggling, you summoned the blood flow back to your limbs. of course your cabin was still freezing. you slipped the first sweater you could find over your arms. warmth coated you immediately. shortly after, it spread to your other limbs. then, it found its way to your brain. 

right. you had fallen asleep on the floor because of… 

“the blessing,” you whispered to yourself. “oh my gods, the blessing.”

your heart raced. surely you hadn’t slept through an entire day. will would’ve woken you up if you had, right? not that you would’ve blamed him if he hadn’t. you walked to your front door. the sky was a light blue with an orange coming from the east. great. you were early for the worst day of your life. maybe going back to sleep wasn’t as bad of an idea. 

but, the next time you’d be in bed was with will. you froze in your doorway. would that make it better or worse? you thought to yourself. later that night, you’d be in his arms, against his chest, close enough to hear his heartbea—

you stepped out of your cabin and slammed the door behind you. 

camp was quiet in the early morning. the wind was somehow lighter. every path and patch of grass was empty. all of the cabin windows were dark with gray. it wasn’t every canoe night that you woke up at dawn to get started, but it also wasn’t every canoe night that you’d be hours away from introducing your best friend as your boyfriend to your mother.

you proceeded down the cabin area. it was too late to give up now. all that was left was to get through the day. even if it was the worst day of your life, it was just 24 hours. less than that, actually. and, sure, you wouldn’t be able to have another breakdown alone in your cabin after that, but…at least you had the morning after. oh gods. you wanted to punch your brain for that wording.

as you crossed into the forest area, the shade covered you, and the memories of the night after the bonfire came right back. assuming everything went well, you’d be getting a loyalty blessing. to will. as in, a loyalty blessing, binding the two of you for life. you wouldn’t be able to separate no matter what happened. and, to make it even better, he’d make you sibling-official!

you shivered. everything could go wrong and you’d still be stuck to him. you two could fall out but not be able to escape each other. or, even worse, you’d be forced to hide your feelings from him until the end of time. great. and then if you did confess to him, and he didn’t agree, he’d also have no choice but to stay. 

some sick part of you relaxed at that idea. damnit.

you approached the grass of canoe lake. the water lilies were closed at the early hour, as if they needed sunlight to function. near one of the sheds were the lanterns you’d requested from the athena cabin—bronze frame with a sunset silhouette backed by paper—accompanied by a box of matches. they were just as you’d dreamed them. 

you sat down on the grass and struck a match. opening the top of the lantern, you lit up the candle. you held it up to the sunrise. the color was almost akin. you smiled.

you took your own canoe to the edge of the pond. where to put the lantern, especially if two people would be in the boat? speaking of, your mind went back to will. what if i’m limiting him? after all, what if he wanted someone else, but he couldn’t have them just because of this stupid loyalty blessing? 

“stop,” you whispered at your mind.

your hands began to shake. quickly, you opted by setting the lantern on the edge of the canoe. what if will did want someone else? what if he told you that, and you couldn’t get away from him? you tried to picture him with somebody else.

he’d sit with them at the fire. he’d smile at them, bigger than he ever had at you. and when he’d laugh, he’d laugh harder. his siblings would like them more. he wouldn’t have any bridges waiting to be burned. and, best of all, they wouldn’t be the child of the goddess who killed anyone her husband looked at. you brought your hands to your face.

in the process, your elbow came in contact with the bronze. plop! you removed your hand to see the lantern had been floating in the pond. great. the candle had extinguished. you groaned into your hands.

“okay, no more thinking about that,” you vowed to yourself. “let’s just get through today.”

↞•🦚•↠

you and will walked away from the mess hall and set on the path towards his cabin. even with your sweater on, goosebumps covered your arms. you hugged yourself closer. the sun was a little higher in the sky, and yet, it wasn’t warming anything up. right. because after only managing to stomach half of your breakfast and being on the way to be introduced to your fake boyfriend’s family, the number one thing you needed was to be freezing.

a thick gust of wind blew by, letting out a deep huff as it passed. will’s teeth clattered. the question you’d been wanting to ask since the bonfire loomed over your mind. it was so stupid. you weren’t going to ask it. yet, as you two crossed into the cabin area, you couldn’t help yourself.

“you know it isn’t too late to turn back, right?”

will winced, but quickly shook it off. “yeah.”

no shit. why had you even asked that? obviously he knew. you sighed at yourself. a cloud left your mouth. if it was that cold, was the canoe night even possible? or would the lake be frozen over? you tightened your hug around yourself. 

immersed in their morning chatter, surrounding campers wandered absentmindedly along the grass, crossing the path like it was nothing. they laughed and playfully slapped each other as they spoke. smiles and points, lit up eyes and cheers of agreement. gods, how badly you wished you could be as careless as them. maybe the sunlight had hit them differently.

“why would i want to turn back?” will suddenly asked, looking at you.

you could’ve sworn there was a hint of a grin on his face. no. not doing that, you reminded yourself. you straightened your posture. “because the blessing is permanent.”

you two stopped at his cabin’s doorstep. will stood in front of the door, his hand resting on the doorknob. his eyes examined you in a way you would’ve found attractive had you not been incredibly confused. 

“i know,” he said levelly, holding the door open for you.

okay then. you walked into the cabin, him following shortly after. the hardwood floor creaked below you as you adjusted. it was only a matter of time before his siblings noticed you. your heart raced. once they did that, it was officially over. there was no going back.

the door clicked shut.

austin looked up from where he was fixing his saxophone. kayla relaxed her arms that you assumed were being used to practice archery poses, though it was hard to say. great. will gently took your hand. the same sparks from the campfire flew. not now, you reminded yourself. when they didn’t say anything, will cleared his throat.

“we have something to tell you,” will said. 

it still wasn’t too late to back out. all you’d have to do was turn around, open the door, and run for your life. your stomach acid sloshed around. the silence was filled by the sound of your pulse banging against your eardrums. please, just say it, you thought.

“we’re in a relationship.”

and it was over. just like that. both of your lives, chucked into the trash. you squeezed will’s hand and ignored every thought of protest. for a moment, him and his siblings seemed to be having a telepathic conversation using their eyes. you looked down at the floor and lightly rocked on your toes.

“finally.” kayla walked up to you and wrapped you in a hug. you accepted it without thinking. the warmth melted the tension in your muscles. did good hugs run in the apollo family?

she pulled back and wagged a finger between you and will. “you two weren’t discreet at all. but nice try.”

you couldn’t help but laugh. will smiled, rolling his eyes fondly. your chest softened. fine. one time. his eyes met yours. they seemed brighter above his smile. he tilted his head slightly, and your smile almost expanded. shit. shit. you quickly looked away.

you pursed your lips. you’d done it. right after he’d made you two sibling official, too. austin played a celebratory tune on his saxophone, jolting you right back into reality. right. you were supposed to look convincing. you laughed in a way you hoped wasn’t too obviously fake.

once the tune stopped, kayla looked to you. “now that there’s someone actually important in his life, could you try to convince him to let me lead an archery class?”

↞•🦚•↠ 

you looked up from where you sat on your canoe. the sun was slowly setting, painting the sky in a purple and orange. the gradient reflected on the sparkling surface of the water. the breeze had settled. finally, your sweater was enough to shield you from the weather. dozens of canoes had filled the pond. you couldn’t help but smile.

the horizon lanterns looked even better in the twilight. so much better that they cast a familiar glow onto will’s face as he sat across from you. he had a small smile on his face, identical to the one from that one daydream you had, where you two were sitting in the same canoe, in the same lantern lighting, with the same warmth in your ches—

“there’s enough people here,” you said. “i think we can make our toast.”

will nodded. “right. uh, remind me what i’m supposed to say again?”

“nothing. you just have to sit there.” while i proceed to introduce you as my boyfriend! 

you shut your eyes and inhaled. okay. you could do this. it wasn’t like the archery class where you had to hold his hand. it wasn’t like the bonfire where you had to rest your head on his shoulder and end up an inch away from his lips. it was just a title. yet your heart raced as if someone were pointing a knife at you. you took in the earthy pond scent mixed with a hint of candle wax, then clapped your hands once.

“hi everyone! i hope you’re all having a great night. my boyfriend and i want to thank you all for showing up. with spring right on the horizon, make sure not to capsize and be sent back to winter!”

some people laughed. will let out a giggle, which was annoyingly rewarding. you turned back to face him. he looked down at the floor. the water started to rock the boat.

you didn’t want to ask him again. you didn’t want to ruin the mood of the beautiful canoe night. you’d already asked once today and he said no. but that was before he introduced you to his siblings. and that was also a few extra hours before he’d be laying in the same bed as you, meeting your mother. you took in a preparing breath. you were being stupid. but…

“are you positive about agreeing to this blessing?” you asked. 

will looked up. he moved a hand towards you. was he about to…? nevermind, he rested it on the ledge. you gulped at the fact you even thought he’d take your hand. 

“fully positive.”

the candlelight showed off the tiny smile on will’s face. his eyes were firm and sure. he’d even leaned forward for emphasis. you squeezed your hands together. of course it didn’t ease any of the tension. even in the middle of the pond, where none of land could hurt you, you still couldn’t shake the worry. you looked out to the water.

the waves were slow as they reflected the sky, and, as you leaned over, your furrowed eyebrows. you made eye contact with the wavy picture of you. damn. you were just as worried as you felt. maintaining the eye contact, you spoke, more to yourself than anything.

“even though it’s permanent, and there’s no way to go back? no matter what happens?”

your heart raced. you wished your reflection could hop up and save you from this mess. maybe it could pull you under with the lantern that’d fell.

“i wouldn’t want to go back.”

it took every ounce of your self-restraint to not ask what? as loud as possible. you turned to him. now it was your turn to lean in for dramatic effect. will furrowed his eyebrows slightly, but the smile was still there. and it still looked as great in the candlelight. fuck. 

“but what if you like someone, and you can’t have them because of this stupid blessing?” the scenarios you’d imagined him and someone else in appeared in your mind, and you quickly screamed a mental shut up! 

will swallowed hard enough for his adam’s apple to bob. he looked down at the bottom of the canoe. his legs bounced, starting to rock the boat. you clutched your stomach. you’d never gotten motion sick before, but this would be the perfect day to start. 

“i do like someone,” he said.

your hearing reduced to nothing but a high pitched ring. everything else was muffled. your vision blurred, the world going in and out of focus. were you still sitting up? had you passed out? you looked down at your hands to be sure. even those went in and out. your body went hollow as if your organs and all of their functions were about to abandon you.

if your vision wasn’t deceiving you, then will leaned even farther forward. still a respectable distance, but…closer. 

“who is it?” you hoped you managed, gripping the side of the boat to try to steady yourself.

all of the functions of your body came back, and you sat up. you stared at will with an intensity you hated. he gulped. shit. why couldn’t you move? why couldn’t you stop yourself? 

“it’s—”

“don’t tell me.” you suddenly commanded. 

will opened his mouth to speak, but shut it. so your imagining of someone else with him on all of the things you two had done were accurate. great. you tried to regulate your breath. as you looked up at him again, he was still bathed in that orange light. the same firelight that shone on his lips the time you were just an inch away from him. 

and even in a moment where every fiber of your body was fighting to keep you awake, the selfish nature of your heart wanted one thing. 

“can i kiss you?” you asked.

will blinked. “of course.”

you kissed him. as you were about to pull away, he placed his hands on either side of your face. your whole body went soft with a push and pull, tingles that only wanted his skin. his lips tasted like honey with a hint of wax. without thinking, you placed your hands around his neck. will’s heartbeat pulsed against your palm. shit.

you pulled away. will looked shocked. oh gods. you’d done it. you’d let go, and here you were. 

“i’m sorry,” you said. you reached for the paddles and immediately rowed for the dock. will said something, but his words were muffled. all you could hear was your racing heart, screaming at how badly you’d messed up. great. every pull of the paddles through the water was increasingly treacherous.

you arrived at the dock next to the open water lilies. as soon as you did, the paddle crashed into one of the posts and cracked in half. carefully, you stood up and swayed with the current. the lantern fell into the water. you stepped onto the dock.

something scratched your leg, sending a jolt of pain up your limb. you cursed. before you knew it, the world was black.

[lotusstarlet]

in no good state to receive

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ will solace x cabin 2!gn!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) percy takes you up on the offer for a loyalty blessing over his relationship. the only way hera will hand it over? if you manage to convince her that your best friend, will, is your boyfriend.

with only a crammed week of 'rehearsing,' just how convincing can you get?

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 1.7k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱  FLUFF and LIGHT ANGST.

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 and 2 / 3 / 4 (current) / 5 / 6

you and will sat in the strawberry fields. the spring breeze blew by, light and cool, but not chilling. the last of the afternoon sunlight poured down from the sky. fresh, red strawberries laid on the bushes alongside tiny blossoms sprinkled about. the taste of the first strawberry you’d just eaten slowly faded from your tongue.

your heart raced in your chest as you thought back to the night before. the fact you still had a bridge to burn—one you weren’t even on the way to—and worst of all, how his lips were so close to yours, how he looked in the fire—

“i taught the first canoeing class of the season this morning,” you said.

as he chewed a strawberry, will’s eyes were miles away. he jolted back to reality when he heard you. “how’d it go?”

“fine, mostly. a kid almost capsized, though.”

will let out a short chuckle that seemed pointedly fake. “wait, how did that happen?”

“well…” you reached over to a strawberry. at the same time, will’s hand appeared. shit. both of your hands hovered still in the air. you moved forward, and he did, too. 

“uh…” “oops…” 

you backed up. he backed up. one more time forward. your thumb brushed his pinky. even though the touch lasted a fraction of a second, the same tingles ran through you. or maybe the sun had warmed you more than you thought.

the feeling lingered. great. was this really how every interaction with him was going to be from now on? the one platonic day you’d shared with him was already ruined. you wanted to collapse into yourself. 

will moved to pick a different strawberry. you went back to the original one, plucking it off the leaves. taking a bite, a bitter taste filled your mouth. of course. you forced it down with a struggle. whatever tingles were leftover were quickly killed. thank gods. 

will cleared his throat. “what were we talking about?”

you shook your head and summoned yourself back into reality. at least you weren’t the only one. “the kid who almost capsized. um, yeah, so…”

you sat up. “he literally rocked the boat and started tipping over.”

will lowered his voice as if telling a secret. “how’d he survive that?” 

“i was right there, so i caught him.”

will hummed. he sat back into a more comfortable position, planting his hands on the grass behind him. meanwhile, you reached for the bushes. you’d never been so grateful to grab a strawberry without interference. 

“at least he wasn’t another infirmary patient. he wouldn’t have even been the craziest case,” he said.

you furrowed your eyebrows. “who was the craziest case?”

↞•🦚•↠

“i still can’t believe that kid ate a flower,” you said, taking the final bite of your mac and cheese.

will sat across from you in the mess hall. the time in the strawberry field almost went too far into dinner, which was exactly what you’d needed after the past week.

“i’m not really sure what the thought process there was.” he smiled and shook his head. “i was going to ask him, but i was in healer mode, and that’d be way overstepping.”

you laughed. bringing your fork back down to your plate, the prongs sunk into something soft. your favorite dessert, thank gods—white cake with vanilla frosting. you smiled, taking a bite. the sweetness coated your tongue. will turned his plate towards you.

“here,” he said. “wait, it has some barbecue sauce on it.”

will furrowed his eyebrows. your stomach churned. barbecue sauce was one of your least favorite things in the world. now it was contaminating your favorite thing in the world—the cake, to be clear. part of you wanted to dismiss it. after all, it was just cake. but considering all of the new things you and will had done, you did kind of need that familiarity. you sighed.

but, before you could speak, will did. “i could feed it to you. like here-comes-the-airplane style.” he added a small chuckle to that.

would that airplane drop down, pick you up, and then fly across the globe to a spot you could never see will again? if so, yes, please! you bit your inner lip. you could handle this. even if your heart was racing in your chest.

“sure,” you said, forcing a smile.

will broke off a bite of the cake. you leaned forward. there was still a chance that you could bash your head into the table, and that idea sounded wonderful. he moved the fork closer to your lips. you looked him in the eyes, awkwardly, before taking the bite.

why the fuck did you look him in the eyes? the frosting of the cake was way too sticky, causing mush to stick to the roof of your mouth. you fought a gag. meanwhile, your heart went fuzzy, like the feeling you’d gotten from the candlelight in that one—

stop. stop, stop, stop. stop, you thought to yourself.

will let the fork hover near his plate for a while, looking at you just as dumbfounded. surely he wasn’t… no. nope. no. you crossed your arms. if you were going to start thinking like that, you’d gone too far. that thought process was what ruined you and percy, and just about anyone hera caught interacting with zeus. so, no. you grabbed your plate. your eyes warmed with unshed tears.

“we have a long day tomorrow,” you said. “i’m gonna get some sleep.”

will nodded. “yeah. uh, goodnight.”

“goodnight.”

you speed-walked to the offerings fire, a tear threatening to fall. you couldn’t do this anymore. the one platonic thing you had left with will was tainted. if this blessing continued, and you let him introduce you to his siblings, everything would only get worse. you huffed. screw waiting, you were burning that bridge now. you placed your fork just above the barbecue meat on your plate. 

but you didn’t move, not yet. you looked over to where percy sat, across from his lover. he flashed a glance at you as he talked. you nodded. there was no way you could let either of them down. no one could ever meet your fate again. so, you poured the offerings into the fire, dedicating them to hestia and hestia only, for no reason at all.

it was going to be a long night.

↞•🦚•↠ 

as soon as you arrived back in your cabin, you couldn’t sit down on your bed. you couldn’t close your eyes, because you knew you’d just be faced with a replay of that stupid moment. it’d be in slow motion too, stopping to emphasize all of the worst parts. you paced the short length of your cold cabin.

it was official: the one platonic thing you’d had left with will had been tainted by your own stupid feelings. you knew what you were doing, looking into his eyes, setting yourself up for failure. and the worst part was, it wasn’t even like you were fantasizing, or had ever fantasized about that before. no. there was literally no excuse.

your chest heaved. desperate, you placed your hand to visor your eyes from the faint golden light coming from the torches hung around. how they managed to stay burning surrounded by marble that was turning your socked feet numb was a mystery you’d contemplate another time. your skin fell clammy. 

so maybe percy did need the blessing. and maybe, if you didn’t do said blessing, you’d feel enough guilt that you’d send yourself to the fields of punishment.

“but what they have is temporary,” you whispered to yourself.

and the part you wouldn’t say out loud: you and will couldn’t be temporary. especially on the rare chance he didn’t pass your mother’s tests and the loyalty blessing wasn’t given. if he left because of that, what would you do? and who even knows what your mother would do to him? 

but what if you hurt will? what if you said yes, i’ll allow myself to be all romantic with him, and then one thing would go wrong, and suddenly you’d be on the same side as your mom, casting spells on a lover? and he’d never be able to escape. the mere idea of will ever doing something wrong made you stumble. okay, that image had to go away immediately.

you paused your pacing, suddenly dizzy. you clutched your head to balance. will himself was literally afraid of her. that wasn’t worth it. maybe you could tolerate the risk of someone meeting your fate. you’d get over it someday. and if they didn’t, who cared? if you had will by your side, the world could hate you as much as they wanted.

a knock sounded at your door.

“fuck,” you whispered to yourself.

you walked over. through the peephole, you saw a fidgeting percy. great. just what you needed. but what on earth could he want? you opened the door, hesitantly.

“hello…” you said, a question dragging at your voice.

“hey. can i come in?”

were you about to wreck his home by letting him into yours? you let percy walk in. he opted to stand against one of the marble pillars near the door, shivering as he made contact with it. across from him, you held your breath as you waited for him to speak.

he carded a hand through his hair. “my partner sent me. someone is apparently planning to cast a spell—”

“on you two?” because, somehow, hearing it out of your own mouth was easier.

he nodded.

you fought the urge to buckle your knees, collapse to the ground, and let out a gut-wrenching scream at the sky. could this day get any worse? seriously. you pinched the bridge of your nose, looking to the ground. this was probably hera’s way of letting you know she was listening. of course she’d do something like this. you let out a breath before looking back up.

“okay. understood. i’m actually talking to my mother tomorrow night, so it won’t be too long,” you said.

“perfect. uh, thanks.” he turned to the door.

you eased. “of course. it’s the least i could do.”

not wanting to allow him to dwell on that for another second, you opened the door to let him out of your cabin. as soon as you were alone again, you did, in fact, let yourself crumble to the floor. you went limp against the cold marble and shut your eyes. 

[lotusstarlet]

it finally appears, it's only love

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ will solace x cabin 2!gn!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) percy takes you up on the offer for a loyalty blessing over his relationship. the only way hera will hand it over? if you manage to convince her that your best friend, will, is your boyfriend.

with only a crammed week of 'rehearsing,' just how convincing can you get?

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 2.2k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF and LIGHT ANGST. swearing

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 and 2 / 3 (current) / 4 / 5 / 6

you walked at will’s side like a lost puppy as you approached the beach. the pitch black sky hung above the darkened water lapping onto shore. on said shore, the bonfire was prepared. sparks flew. people sat around, laughing and talking, completely innocent.

gods, how much you wished you could be one of them, instead of having to flirt with your best friend and spend way too much energy pretending he was someone else.

but that was setting a bad tone for the night, jealousy. you couldn’t be jealous. at all. with will. you swallowed. it was time to enter tyche boy mode. you thought back to his golden curls and his green eyes. then, you looked to will, and a sight now obnoxiously familiar flashed in your mind. okay, maybe eye contact wasn’t the way to go. you looked to his nose.

“so, how are we going to do this?” you asked.

will walked with you to a shadier spot on the beach, away from the entrance. he leaned in to whispering distance. “all we have to do is make them think we’re a couple. sit close to each other. flirt occasionally? nothing we haven’t already done. it’ll be fine. i promise.” 

the way he was practically tripping over his words, you could tell that last part wasn’t true. “okay. doable.” not even remotely.

will extended his hand to you. you took it. strike one. the tyche boy image faded as soon as your hands were on his skin again. how could it not? you’d never felt tyche boy’s palm, it wasn’t like you knew what it felt like. that, and, those same stupid feelings were back. the skin on your palm was practically sensitive from yearning for will’s touch. it felt so, so right, even though it shouldn’t have. 

you could’ve sworn you felt eyes on you as you two swerved through the crowd. your heart raced. thankfully, will found a spot for you two, right near kayla and austin. 

okay. you could do it. even outside of tyche boy mode. those were will’s siblings. you’d met them countless times before. it wasn’t like this was the first time. even if this was the fastest your heart had raced around them, you’d done it before.

“hey,” you said to them both.

they both greeted you back, then exchanged some sort of smile between each other. great. you took a seat next to will. both of you moved so the sides of your arms were flush together.

tyche boy mode, you reminded yourself. you’d never felt will’s bicep before, so this would be tyche boy’s. but now there was more of his skin on you. okay. stop. stop. focus.

“here.” kayla tossed both you and will marshmallows.

you placed your marshmallow in the fire. finally, a break, where all you had to do was watch a marshmallow bathe in flames. you let out a breath that you hoped wasn’t as loud as it was relieving. you watched it char. in your peripheral, austin and kayla just looked at will expectantly.

“you guys have met y/n before,” he said, in a tone that made that equally a question and a statement. he started to bounce his leg but suppressed it quickly.

kayla sat up straighter. “correct. something seems different this time.” she wagged her marshmallow-topped branch between the two of you.

you’d never stared at a marshmallow more intently. the outside was slowly starting to brown. using that, you focused on what tyche boy would look like. because that was who you were with. he adjusted next to you.

“okay, i’ll say it. are you two dating?” austin asked, out of the blue.

you startled and blinked, right back into reality, and started to speak.

“n—” “y—”

you and will—because how could you view him as anything but after that—looked between each other. neither of you had said anything about officially putting a title on it. the idea of that sent a shiver down your spine. will’s eyes slightly widened, as if he were asking a question. you nodded will on. whatever he said might be stupid, but at least it wouldn’t be your responsibility.

“we haven’t put a label on it yet,” he said, then took a bite of his marshmallow.

you squeezed your eyes shut. even being called his partner again would be better than that.

“but you’re seeing each other?” kayla asked.

you took your marshmallow from the fire. will lightly nudged the side of your arm. fuck.

“yes,” you said.

you stuffed your mouth with the marshmallow before any other questions could be asked of you. will nodded. okay. this was easy. you could let go of tyche boy for a bit. thankfully. 

austin nodded. “cool. so, what’ve you been up to lately? you teach canoeing, right? how’s the season looking?”

↞•🦚•↠

the conversation went surprisingly smoothly. second and third marshmallows were passed to each of you. the feeling of will’s arm against yours had faded into the background of laughter. glittering above you, the night stars looked down at the beach. part of you wished you could fall asleep to the sound of the fire and the waves. now that tyche boy mode was off, your heart rate had slowed.

that was, until austin passed a guitar, and you felt obligated to rest your head on will’s shoulder. 

you were right back into tyche boy mode. your heart raced for a reason you hoped was anxiety. hopefully will couldn’t feel it on his back. after all, you were literally face to face. it was way, way too intimate for your liking. tingles did flood your body. you wanted to shiver, despite the warmth radiating from the fire. 

will seemed as relaxed as he’d been all night. his posture was slightly slouched as he adjusted the guitar. 

“so, any song requests?” austin pointed his chin to you.

you raised your eyebrows. “well—”

will spoke. “shouldn’t i be asking that?”

why did...that…make your heart skip a beat? fuck. fuck. okay. that was so stupid. it was a random question for the sake of conversation. you cleared your throat. back to the question at hand. what song would you want to hear in that moment? an idea came to mind. 

“baby by justin bieber?” you asked.

both austin and kayla burst into massive grins. will drew in a long breath. “if that’s what you want.”

“yep,” you struggled out.

“all three of you know i’m not a good singer. or guitar player. and i’m not trying to be, okay?” he looked around.

you three agreed. for once, you let yourself relax. will cleared his throat and sat up, the proximity bringing you right back into tyche boy mode. okay. wow. he was…he was right there. focus. 

will strummed an unrecognizable chain of notes. “oh woah…”

you snorted. kayla looked away, and austin put a hand over his mouth.

“you know you love m—” his voice cracked as soon as he began to sing.

you burst into laughter, backing off to avoid hurting him. austin and kayla followed. for a moment, it was just the three of you laughing. even will joined in. by the time it finished, your chest hurt. gods, it felt nice to be friends again.

you found yourself back on… tyche boy’s shoulder. he shook his head. 

“out of all of you, i was expecting you to laugh the least.” he turned to you.

your lips were just a breath away from his. will’s face glowed in the firelight way too familiarly. all you could see was him. all you could hear and feel and smell was him. the only thing you couldn’t taste was him. sparks bounced and crackled from the fire. your whole body filled with tingles.

he looked into your eyes, his eyelids fluttering.

“are we interrupting something?” austin asked.

you and will backed away from each other. you shook your heads. meanwhile, your heartbeat still hadn’t recovered. will cleared his throat. “how about you give the guitar a try, austin? dad gave you most of the musical abilities.”

will pulled at the guitar strap. you got up from his shoulder. the lack of touch left you cold, and oddly wanting more. he pulled the guitar off him and handed it to austin. why were you freezing? and why was your heart still racing? why did his stupid face have to glow in the firelight just like it did in your dreams? oh gods.

↞•🦚•↠ 

you hugged yourself as you walked away from the beach. will had insisted on walking you home. apparently, there was something to talk about. you walked a few steps ahead of him. the spring night had quickly become very cold. you shivered. all you wanted was to be home, in your bed.

because your bed was the one place you would be accepted at after that…whatever that was. if you had just not laughed. if you’d stayed in tyche boy mode. if you hadn’t let yourself get caught up in that stupid moment. or, better yet, if you hadn’t even entertained that thought back at the canoe, maybe all of this would be better.

will caught up to you as you two got onto the path towards the cabins. he fidgeted with his hands. “look, about that, i’m sor—”

“i don’t want to talk about it.”

you looked in the other direction of will. the camp was drenched in darkness, being well past lights out. wind wrinkled the grass below you. you shivered. next to you, will’s teeth clattered, too. right. he was there, experiencing this moment just like you. he continued to mess with his fingers. 

“sorry,” you said. “go ahead.”

“i’m sorry, too,” will said. “we agreed to not kiss or anything. i don’t know what i was thinking.”

thank every god, your cabin was a step away. you two stopped. leaning against the door, the cold metal made your chest ease. you were home. this conversation and everything about this night would be over in a matter of minutes. “it’s fine. i should’ve moved.”

you took a long blink, relaxing further against the door. will rubbed his hands together as if something were about to appear out of them. gods, your door had no reason to feel better than a mattress. that stupid breeze flew by again. with a shiver, you reached for the doorknob. 

suddenly, will spoke. “so, tomorrow. do you have any plans? i was thinking we could practice introducing each other more. in lower stakes situations.” his voice was levelled enough to make you question if any of the past night had even happened.

right. tomorrow. because after you almost kiss your best friend, life goes on. you lightly banged your head against the door. there was that off-chance he’d take your hand, or he’d lean in too close. the warmth bloomed in your chest. you quickly stood up. no way. absolutely no way.

will tapped his fingers in a rhythm against the pocket of his shorts. he seemed unable to meet your eyes. your stomach sunk. he didn’t deserve for your feelings to go any further. so, before you could think it through, you spoke.

“i think we should take a day off and go back to being friends.”

will froze, the rhythm pausing. he gave you a once-over, and not the kind that would bring any sort of pleasure. under the darkness of your cabin’s roof, he was bathed in a shadow. you swallowed hard. even the wind stilled.

“we meet your mom in two days. we still need practice,” he said.

you sighed. “we have the canoe thing right before we actually meet her. it’ll be enough.”

will opened his lips to speak, but ended up pursing them. he rolled his shoulders, looking at the sky. you gulped. you’d never seen will angry. burnt out, sure. cranky, sure. tired, sure. but even his worst days at the infirmary hadn’t made him stop himself from speaking. turning the doorknob had never seemed more tempting.

he took a breath. you clutched the doorknob. why couldn’t you two have talked about this during the day, when it didn’t feel like you two were the only ones in the world? and when the stupid breeze wasn’t flying by every two seconds.

“well…okay. but, if i may ask, why?” his voice was way too soft.

you weren’t in the mood to construct a lie. “because i just need a break. it’s just…there’s a lot going on.” 

the only thing going on in your life was the growing feelings for him. you wanted to punch yourself for saying that. 

will nodded slowly. he slid his hands into his pockets. “if we’re going to take tomorrow off, then i need to officially introduce you to my siblings the next morning. i can’t face your mom without any more practice.” 

you blinked. “introduce me to your siblings? what are we going to do after this ends? keep this whole ‘fake relationship’ thing up?”

goosebumps formed on your skin. the night was only getting darker and colder. gods, make this end. will straightened his posture. “we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it. goodnight.”

before you could question it, he walked away. “goodnight,” you mumbled to yourself.

you turned the doorknob. with all of your weight on the door, you practically stumbled into your cabin, just missing the floor. gods. what the fuck had just happened? what was any of that? first, it was the almost kiss. then, it was…that. then, it was the whole ‘let’s-become-sibling-official’ thing. whatever that was. you trudged across your cabin and collapsed in your bed.

he was right. you’d burn whatever that bridge was when you got to it. but what about the bridge connecting the flashing memory of being just an inch away from his lips to a warmth in your chest that melted all of the cold from outside?

[lotusstarlet]

go forth, ask questions later

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ will solace x cabin 2!gn!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ (full work summary) percy takes you up on the offer for a loyalty blessing over his relationship. the only way hera will hand it over? if you manage to convince her that your best friend, will, is your boyfriend. with only a crammed week of 'rehearsing,' just how convincing can you get?

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 5.1k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF. swearing, hera is a questionable parent

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | 1 and 2 (current) / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

˚ʚ ꒰🗣️꒱ this is a sequel/spinoff to my percy fic winning is my trademark! that said, you do not have to read it to understand this one :D

“he said yes!”

you let yourself fully into the infirmary backroom, breathless from excitement. the news was just as fresh to you. in fact, you’d excused yourself early solely to run across camp and tell your best friend. will looked up from the pile of papers in his lap. he furrowed his eyebrows.

“you’re getting married?” he asked.

a shiver rippled down your spine at that thought. “gods, no. the blessing.”

will tapped a finger to his downturned lips. “the blessing…”

“the loyalty blessing…” you dragged your voice to give him a chance to answer.

will stared blankly into space. after a few beats, he finally shook his head. “i’m sorry, it’s been such a day here.”

you smiled and went to sit down next to him on the couch. with incident reports concealing almost every visible inch of the cushion’s surface, your only choice was in the corner, against the armrest. a quick glance told you that all of them were from the past day. had capture the flag really done that much?

“percy agreed to let me get him a loyalty blessing for him and his partner,” you said. chemicals of excitement rushed in your body as soon as you said it out loud. “i finally get to make it up to him.”

will facepalmed. “oh, right! congratulations. this is great.”

he wrapped you in a hug. without thinking, you hugged him back. the slightly alcoholic smell that lingered in the infirmary clung to his white doctor’s coat. eventually, you both pulled back. will moved the papers off his lap and placed his face in his hand, looking at you intently. now it was your turn to be confused.

“so, what did your mom say about it?”

you squeezed your eyes shut. “shit, i forgot.”

↞•🦚•↠

after offering half of your dinner to your mother, it was only logical that she’d let you talk to her. nonetheless, you did go to bed a little nervous. you hadn’t talked to her since the first blessing you tried to get for a much, much worse reason. and now you’d be face to face with the goddess you’d spent every day of the past three years trying not to become.

you woke up to a temple in the sky. shiny, cream-colored pillars let in the clear blue from the heights of olympus. a circle of the same material had its corners occupied with tiny ponds, water lilies floating at the surface. the silence made it almost surreal. until you looked up the staircase and saw…

hera. staring down at you from her golden throne; draped in her fancy, white gown; crown on head. in her hand, a lotus staff. you swallowed hard. you’d never forget the first time you heard the bang of it against the floor. it shook the same exact tiles so hard that it even spread to your body.

you ascended up the steps to face her. she squinted at you through her cold eyes, easing the fake smile on her face.

“what do you need, darling?” she asked.

her voice was low and smooth, but you remembered how she sounded when she yelled at you. you hugged yourself. there was no easy way to say what you were about to say, but it had to be said. you took a deep breath.

“i’m looking for a loyalty blessing for percy jackson and—”

hera banged her lotus staff. the marble floors rocked below you. water lilies sloshed in their tiny ponds. you jolted, plugging your ears. the vibration pulsed all throughout your body, rocking every vessel.

“percy jackson?” she shouted. “that…” hera turned her palm in a circle as if gesturing to a pile of trash. “boy doesn’t deserve a blessing of any kind. he certainly won’t be getting another chance with you. you deserve so much better.”

you sighed, the sound echoing in the vastness. it didn’t matter how many times you’d explained anything to her. she didn’t listen. “it’s not for me.”

hera cocked a single perfectly-arched eyebrow. “then who is it for?”

you hugged your arms closer to you, feeling like a child underneath her gaze. you should’ve known that telling her percy had found someone else—despite the fact that neither you or percy were ever ‘someone’ to each other—wouldn’t be received well. if you did tell her who it was, there was no telling what she’d do. your pulse beat against your eardrum. 

“well?” hera asked, her voice softer.

you started to pace the step you were on, just four down from her throne. you didn’t have nearly enough of the energy required to hide this. “it’s for his current partner. child of nike. the whole camp has eyes on their boyfriend, and i just feel horrible.”

hera laughed coldly. “when you say horrible, don’t you mean…jealous? because i am happy to ruin that boy’s life over and over again if he’s making you feel that way still.”

jealous? you were, of course, jealous of percy back in the spell times, but not now. right? you stopped pacing.

“no. not jealous. i just don’t want them to have to go through the same thing i went through,” you said.

you’d never forget the way you felt after asking your mother to cast a love spell on percy. he was the most sought after, you were the most glared at. all because you’d made the mistake of catching an apple before he could. and you didn’t even want him. you just wanted to have the upper hand. then you got it. until people did retaliatory spells, and percy had slipped right out of that hand. you shuddered at the memory.

hera let out a hum. “which one asked for the blessing?”

“it was technically my suggestion.” you thought back to cabin inspections last summer, where you’d suggested it on a whim. “but percy ultimately came to me.”

“oh, so he finds someone new and now he can protect himself?” she cackled. “if there’s anything boys have, my dear, it’s the audacity.”

you chuckled at that, and hera did, too. for a moment, everything between you two was normal. you two were just mother and child.

“but, will you give them the blessing?” you asked. because she would’ve.

hera glanced at her lotus staff. “only if you two get on even ground. i’m not letting that boy break your heart ever again.” she picked up her lotus staff and pointed it at you. “if you want the blessing, bring someone home to me. if they pass my tests, great, both you and…percy get the blessings.”

you froze, your limbs going light. ‘you’ and ‘bring someone home’ in the same sentence? there was no way. there was absolutely, positively, no way you could do that. casting a love spell on percy was bad enough. now, having to actually date someone and risk them not passing your mother’s ‘tests?’ there was no way. there was no telling what she’d do or what she’d say.

as tears welled up in your eyes, you sniffled without realizing, it echoing in the void. hera didn’t even move a muscle. she just sat there, staring at you in your peripheral vision. right. because of course she would. of. fucking. course. she had to know what she was doing. you shook your head. would you figure this out? absolutely not. but crying in front of someone who may as well have been a statue wasn’t making it any easier.

blinking tears away, you looked up. “how long do i have?”

hera pointed her forehead at you. “how long do you think percy can go without being an idiot?”

great. you were already crying and spiraling, and then she poses a question like this. you didn’t know percy nearly well enough to answer that. “maybe… a week?”

“sure, a week. any other questions or concerns or comments?” her voice dripped icicles.

many others, you thought to yourself, like why you’d ask me to this knowing i’m completely doomed. you attempted to slow your breathing to get the practical version of your mind back. “how do i bring them here?”

hera smiled. “both of you give me an offering and sleep in the same bed.”

even better! as the lump in your throat only grew, you nodded, forcing it down. your mind spiraled. you were about to descend from the staircase to leave the dream. but, before you turned, you had one more thing you figured you’d ask. y’know, before everything in your life was changed.

“as your child, am i cursed for—”

the darkness of your bedroom ceiling filled your vision. you brought your hands up to your eyes, groaning.

how were you going to do this? where were you even going to start? it wasn’t like you could just go up to someone and start a relationship, just like that. and there wasn’t a single person at camp who you’d want to walk up to and start a relationship with.

you tossed and turned for a few more minutes until an idea came to mind. 

↞•🦚•↠

you bounced your leg underneath your cabin’s lunch table. will sat in front of you, a blurry figure speaking gibberish under the sound of your thoughts. you had to find someone, anyone. your eyes scanned each of the tables. was the mess hall always that crowded? had there always been so many people? and had everyone at camp always been so un-dateable? 

“i was playing capture the flag and a kid shoved past me and said, ‘move it, infirmary boy,’” will said.

that brought you back to reality. you let out a small laugh. though, it didn’t reach your eyes like it usually did with will.

“either i spend way too much time at work or he’s just mean. i can’t tell.”

you said, “probably a little of both.”

a beat of silence. the wind blew past. you shivered. will did, too. the smile on your face fell. will leaned closer on the table like he was about to whisper something to you.

“wait, so, did you talk to your mom?” he asked.

“unfortunately.”

will gave you a pity smile, rotating his plate so the white cake slice faced you. immediately, some of the tension in your chest eased. “here, you need it. now tell me about it.”

you made the mistake of saying the white cake was your favorite at the beginning of the friendship, and ever since, you’ve gotten every single one of his. you laughed and reached your fork over. “she banged her lotus staff so loud it literally shook me to my core.”

you took a bite of the cake. 

“why on earth would she do that?” he asked.

you sighed. right. you’d have to tell him sometime, and that time was now. adjusting in your seat, you swallowed the mush that was the white cake. 

“because i said percy’s name. she’s mad at him for…i don’t know, moving on from something he never even had with me, and now, in order to get the blessing, she’s insisting we get on ‘even ground.” you drew in a breath. “meaning i have a week to find a lover to bring home to her.”

your stomach sank, and the room bordered on getting all fuzzy again. a week. as in, 7 days. somehow, saying it out loud made that timeframe seem as small as it really was. will raised his eyebrows.

“a week? to bring someone home?” he asked. “that’s insane.”

you nodded. “i know. it’s a mess.”

“do you have any ideas for who?”

i wish! your posture slouched. “no. but they have to be someone who i can’t actually fall for. like, i’d have to fake it. and they have to fit her standards, of course.”

will nodded slowly. he tapped his fingers on the table. you took another bite of the cake. his eyes went somewhere else. suddenly, the conversations around you got much louder. you two were the only ones not talking.

finally, he spoke. “do i fit her standards?”

oh! “umm…” you thought about it. it wasn’t like you would fall for your best friend. in fact, out of everyone you knew, he’d be the least likely you’d fall for. that aside, hera and apollo didn’t have anything too serious in their myths—which, yes, you knew better than the back of your hand. okay. it could work. 

“i think so,” you said.

something in your chest eased. will took a bite of his barbecue, chewing awfully thoroughly.

“and you’re sure she won’t get too mad at us for faking it?”

the bang of the lotus staff rang in your mind, the vibrating floor returning to the soles of your feet. if that was how she’d react to you mentioning percy alone, who was to say how she’d react if she found out you were faking a relationship? but would that really matter? at the end of the day, didn’t she just need someone who was loyal?

you shook your head, coming back to reality. “she probably will. but i really need this blessing. i mean, percy himself asked for it. it’s the least i can do.”

other campers started to get up from their tables and head to make offerings to the fire. you and will followed. you got up frist, and him second. 

“okay. as long as we practice, a lot, we should be good. i think.” he asked as you two started walking.

practice? you flashed him a look as you headed to the fire. “what do you mean by practice?”

will shrugged. “practice introducing ourselves as a couple so i don’t mess up in front of her. i could use a co-teacher for my archery class. at least there no one will remember if it’s terrible.”

you poured your food in the fire, making a usual offering to hera. “okay, sure.”

i'm going on clean (chapter 2)

you and will stood at the top of the archery field. you took a breath. as each target filled, you couldn’t help but wonder what was next. how the week would look, what kind of stuff you’d get into. will seemed to be waiting for everyone to settle down.

“attention!” will clapped his hands. “it’s an independent learning day. my partner and i will be…”

your hearing faded. my partner and i. a pit formed in your stomach. so it was real now. you and will were officially in a public relationship. okay. you’d ignore the implications of that.

the sound of arrows splintering targets summoned you back to reality. will stood next to you, arms crossed, peering over the situation like a dad on a soccer field. pushing aside your next thought, you rocked on your heels.

“so, what am i supposed to do?” you asked. “i don’t know a lick about archery.”

will turned to you. “honestly, me, neither. i just hand out arrows the whole time. which…”

he looked you up and down. it had no reason to feel like it was in slow motion, yet it did. your memory would store every frame of his eye movements. you’d never wished you could feel the path of his eyes on your actual skin more. a warmth coated you.

his eyes came back up and met yours. for a moment, you could’ve sworn your heart rate increased. shit.

then will reached for a bunch of arrows from his pocket. “you need.”

he cleared his throat and walked off to the left side of the field, leaving you with the right side. you stood there. what was going on? were you just too in-character? you were technically in a lifelong kanathos bath, of course the first time you’d be introduced as someone’s partner would be an experience. but you weren’t expecting to feel that way when it was your best friend. whatever that way was, of course. 

it wasn’t love. you wouldn’t fall in love with will. anyone would’ve felt that…look. you set off to start on your side of the field. hopefully the rhythm of passing out arrows and assessing targets would absorb you. you let out a breath.

you arrived to the end of the field. percy was there, at the final target, with plenty of arrows. he nodded at you. you waved. this blessing had to succeed. you couldn’t let him down. you weren’t going to let feelings of any kind get in the way again. no matter what.

just as you were about to start your third pace of the area, a shout interrupted you. “time for the bullseye competition!”

as will explained the instructions, you ran to catch up to him. he gave you a short nod once you arrived next to him. friendly as ever. had you imagined the look he gave you? you clasped your hands.

“we’re going to come around and clear off your boards. if you shoot either of us, or try to, you’re disqualified. capiche?” he continued.

“capiche!” the crowd shouted.

after clearing off the boards, the competition began. you turned to will.

“how has no one ever gotten killed at one of these?” you asked.

“actually, there was this one incident.”

you stepped back. “wait, what?”

“yep. some kid played eros. it was gruesome.” he grimaced.

you elbowed the side of his arm. “if only you told that story as much as that stupid subway poop story.”

will broke into a smile, clutching his arm. he took a look around. “actually, looks like we have a minute. want the abridged version?”

“absolutely not.”

“so we’ll just stand here in silence? your loss.” 

some kid shouted ‘aww man!’ and snapped both of you out of your talk. will laughed. “i’m gonna go check for winners. if i find one, i’ll call you. call me if you find one.” he was about to start walking when he stopped. “and, if you’re okay with it, we’d definitely be convincing if we called each other babe. like, ‘babe, we have a winner!’”

will raised his eyebrows at you, asking a silent question. you’d never wanted to say no more. instead, you said “sure, yeah.” 

you paced your side of the field. each of the targets were peppered with arrows everywhere except the bullseye. meanwhile, your thoughts ran wild. you’d have to call will babe? the pit in your stomach returned.

okay. you could do it. it was stupid to think otherwise because of one incident, which wasn’t even an incident in the first place. just practice. you started your second round of pacing. 

and then you saw a target. you stopped and squinted, visoring your eyes with your hand. sure enough, a bullseye. you crouched to the little girl’s height.

“future hunter of artemis here,” you said.

she looked up at you with a huge smile on her face. “did i win?”

you nodded. “i think so.”

you cleared your throat. great. now or never. closing your eyes, you took one last breath, savoring that shred of leftover dignity. 

“babe, we have a winner!” you shouted.

you’d never wanted to kick yourself in the leg more than that moment. will came running over. he took a look at the target. then back at the young girl. he crouched down, a smile on his face. you couldn’t peel your eyes away. butterflies filled your chest, stupidly enough.

“what’s your name, hon?” he asked her. 

his voice was so tender, his eyes so genuine. he’d make a great father someday, you thought to yourself. nope. no. not doing that. you blinked, forcing yourself back into your body. bad. 

“celeste,” she said.

will stood back up. with the same smile on his face, he took your hand. a softness ran up your arm, as if sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows had been injected directly into your veins.

every bad or questioning thought you had dissipated under whatever his influence was. his skin against yours, his fingers interlinked, him holding onto you…you weren’t sure you’d ever get enough of the feeling. it was so soft, and yet, the slightest of friction was all you wanted.

“congratulations celeste!” he shouted, raising your hand in his.

the crowd cheered. will dismissed them, giving a kind wave to celeste. now, it was just you and him in the field. you two unlinked hands. the cold air immediately hit your palm, which you hadn’t even realized was clammy until that moment. wordlessly, you set off to clean your side of the field.

you couldn’t help but wonder what that feeling was. a tingle hadn’t run down your spine. that was so, so, so beyond stupid. but the thoughts wouldn’t stop. you couldn’t get the way his hand felt in yours, the texture of his skin, even just the way he held you. the way you, for whatever reason, wanted more. and more. and more.

no, that was stupid. you didn’t want more. you just…whatever. you shook your head. all of the thoughts became overwhelming. it wasn’t a real feeling. just a ‘what-if.’ that’s what the entire relationship was, was it not? just a what-if. except it was strictly an if, because it’d never be a when. you’d never let that happen.

once you caught up to him and met in the center, a small frown warped will’s face. but he quickly wiped it off.

“i feel like we need to make some ground rules for this,” you said.

will blinked, then nodded. “yeah, that wouldn’t hurt. how do you feel about helping me organize some stuff at the infirmary?”

↞•🦚•↠

you stood at one of the counters of the infirmary backroom, organizing cotton pads into a neat pile in the tiny bin. even the task at hand couldn’t get the worries off your mind. the worries of how great just holding his hand felt, the worries of whatever happened when he looked at you. all of it that you hated beyond words. you wished you could wrap bandages around your hand and cure it of the sparks that flew from will’s touch.

at the other counter, will cut squares of ambrosia. “so, what rules did you have in mind?”

thankfully, you’d spent the entire walk there ruminating over the way his eyes and hand made you feel, meaning you had plenty of ideas! you placed the cotton pads into two neat rows. “less physical touch.”

you finished arranging the cotton pads and headed back to the closet. will stayed focused on his ambrosia cutting—thank gods, because you couldn’t handle making eye contact with him again. looking over the shelves, you settled for a roll of gauze that was a mess. you walked back to your counter, using every bit of energy to not scream-beg will to say something. 

he finally spoke. “it’d be a good idea to have a little, i think. like what we had today. that was just enough to be convincing. unless it was too much?”

it was definitely too much! you froze where you were unrolling the gauze. there was nothing genuinely ‘too much’ about the situation. just because you felt too much didn’t mean it was too much. you shook your head at yourself. you could handle yourself. even if the nonsensical feelings arose.

but, before you could get a word in, will continued. “just…with your mom and stuff.”

great! “definitely. and, it wasn’t too much. i think this amount was just fine.” no, it wasn’t!

you reverted your focus to rolling the gauze back up. for a moment, there was nothing but the sound of the knife hitting the tray of ambrosia and the distance of the infirmary. and then the memory of will holding your hand came back in. okay. that wasn’t going to happen. for the love of the gods. you quickly fixed the gauze and headed for the cabinet.

“um, where are we practicing next?” something in your chest eased at using the word ‘practicing.’ because that’s all it was. “we have my canoe night at the next week, but aside from that…”

will stopped cutting. “the bonfire tomorrow? we wouldn’t formally introduce ourselves as a couple to my siblings. we’d just be flirty friends.”

right, because that’s just what we need! without letting yourself have another thought, you said “sure.”

↞•🦚•↠

you’d forgotten how much you’d missed canoeing only after you found yourself back in your own boat, laying against the warm wood of the boat, sandwiched between the thwart and the stern seat. there wasn’t much you wouldn’t give to stay there forever, in the hands of the lake, the waves slowly swaying you, all while being watched over by the evening sunset. away from anything that could hurt you.

you looked down to the notebook in your lap. right. you’d come here to actually do something rather than just bask in the sun. thankfully, you had the idea of sunset lanterns for each canoe.

“joke time,” you said.

every canoe night, you did something like a toast—minus the drinks—in the beginning. they always had to be somewhat cheesy, while also being on theme. and this time was no exception.

in fact, with it being the first canoe night of what you hoped would be a more popular season, alongside being a pairs-specific event, you had to do something extra special. you looked up at the sky, relaxing your head again. you tapped your pen against the notebook.

“with spring just on the horizon…” you wrote that down. “uhh…”

you ran a hand down your face. “with spring just on the horizon…okay, something about it being equal. equal. i hope your days are all spent equal.”

you contemplated throwing your notebook in the water and just giving up on this entirely. your mind was completely blank. it’d never been this hard to come up with a joke in the past. the sun was only setting farther, meaning it had to be getting closer to dinnertime. you sighed.

then, an idea came to mind. write your toast first.

hi everyone! thank you all for coming. i’m your host, y/n, and

you picked up your pencil from the paper. right, you invited will. to sit in your canoe and be your partner for the night. and you’d have to introduce him as your boyfriend. okay. that was fine. you could handle it. you’d done it once, you could do it again. easy enough. you wrote down my boyfriend, will.

all of the thoughts you’d managed to suppress since the whole archery incident came rushing back. you shut your eyes, the sun suddenly way brighter than it should’ve been. you couldn’t get all of that stupid stuff off your mind. like how it felt to hold his hand, how it felt to call him babe, everything that was meaningless.

your mind wandered to the canoe night. if he was going to be there, he’d be in the same boat, sitting across from you, bathed in the candlelight. it’d highlight his skin and his freckles and his eyes. gods, his eyes. the lake seemed to be moving slow enough for both of you to just exist. 

and something about his eyes stuck out, yet again. fine. you’d let yourself indulge this one, single thought. you thought of taking his hand. of feeling his skin again. you’d hang your clasped hands just past the border of the canoe, right over the lake, clasped perfectly together. how the mere touch of his skin would feel the same, if not better. your chest filled with tingles.

he smiled at you, and you found yourself smiling. in real life. the cold wind blew against your teeth. you immediately opened your eyes and sat up. the water below you rocked. your stomach seemed to be at a similar rate. yeah. you messed up.

what did you do. holy shit, what did you do? you clutched your forehead, bringing your vision to the bottom of the canoe. you couldn’t close your eyes again, but if you watched the waves, you’d get motion sick. had any of that just happened? did you really just smile at an imaginary moment? let alone of your best friend?

“that wasn’t real,” you whispered to yourself. it wasn’t loud enough.

you sat up. “that wasn’t real.” you said it louder, as if talking to a crowd. there weren’t even naiads present to hear you.

but it felt real. the sensations in your body felt real. you shook your head. no. you were just imagining something romantic. you weren’t attracted to will, you were attracted to that imaginary, very romantic version of him, which, you reminded yourself, was not real. you’d never lived that moment before.

and, okay, if you were attracted to that version of him, you couldn’t show will. at all. because that was ridiculous. it’d be like imagining him insulting you and then being mad at the real version of him for that. you shook your head. okay. it was manageable.

you grabbed the paddles of the canoe. dragging them through the heavy waters, you heaved as you tried to get back to shore. there was only one thing you could do if you wanted to survive that bonfire tomorrow. if those stupid feelings were going to persist, you could handle it, you just had to find someone else to project onto will. someone who didn’t look just like that romantic version that somehow sent tingles throughout your entire body.

↞•🦚•↠

the mess hall had never been so crowded. your eyes scanned each table. you had to find someone who you could imagine as will. someone who you could memorize the appearance of and find yourself able to act like their partner. but, man, it was hard to find someone. most of the campers were not around your age, weren’t mythologically compatible—because olympus literally for bid you feel attracted to a hephaestus kid—or were just not attractive enough to even pretend.

you finally landed on the tyche table. there was a camper probably about your age. golden, curly hair and green eyes, like a californian leprechaun. that could work. he wasn’t your type, but he wasn’t impossible to imagine, either. you took note of his appearance. 

suddenly, someone obstructed your vision. you blinked. it was will, sitting down in the chair across from you. your breath hitched. why did he have the same eyes as the imagined version? except they weren’t reflecting candlelight from the—stop. okay. you could do this. he wasn’t that imagined version of himself. that was in the past.

“hi,” he said. “out of interest, what were you looking at?”

the boy i’m going to imagine you as at the bonfire tomorrow was what you would’ve said if you were being honest. instead, you said “nothing. i was just zoning out.”

will furrowed his eyebrows. “right. did you decide on the theme for the canoe night yet?”

[lotusstarlet]

the words i didn't say

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ luke castellan x gn!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ on valentine's night, an unexpected visitor shows up at your front door with a choir and a few special words to say.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 777 words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF. beyond cheesy

🪷✧˚₊‧༉

˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist | join my taglist here!

˚ʚ ꒰🏷️꒱ @livisditesfavgirl

˚ʚ ꒰🗣️꒱ this song really adds to the whole experience

sitting at your desk, you stared at a worksheet that was only 1/20th done. it’d been hours. you started to tap the edge of your pen against the desk. quickly, it turned into the beat of your favorite song. a thought occurred to you: even though you couldn’t whistle, you sure could waste a lot of time trying to.

you parted your lips, and for once, noise came out. but it wasn't the sound of your favorite song.

the tune continued even after you closed your lips.

your skin fell clammy. you didn’t have any speakers—in fact, you were mostly relying on the pouring rain outside to help you focus—and you were home alone. the sound of your heart pounded against your eardrum. 

taking a pair of scissors with you, you snuck out of your room. you opened your door without a creak. as you walked into the kitchen, the singing got clearer and clearer. it sounded like a group of men. you’d never heard of male sirens. that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.

arriving at the front door, you took a deep breath. whatever you were about to see through the peephole could be the last thing you ever see. great! you pushed your heels up off the ground. 

through the peephole, you caught a glimpse of… four men dressed in suits and singing. a million questions flooded your mind. the sight directly in front of you almost made your knees give out. now, you had no choice. you had to open the door.

“luke?” you asked.

luke stood on your doorstep, dressed in the same bowtie suit as the rest of the guys. he held a bouquet of dark red roses. in the other arm, he struggled to clutch a huge, plastic heart-shaped box. he nodded at you and gave you that signature small grin of his. soaking wet, he looked stupid, but the kind that made you want to kiss him. 

“hey,” he said, breathless. maybe he had walked in the rain.

“h—” 

the four men harmonized the word ‘hey’ in a descending scale. your lower lip quivered as you tried to hold back a laugh. it really shouldn’t have been funny, but now was not the time to punish yourself for being immature. thankfully, they transitioned back into an instrumental melody. 

“hi,” you said. 

a few beats of the instrumentals passed. you and luke looked at the choir expectantly. they didn’t harmonize your words. something in your chest ached at that. 

luke cleared his throat. “i know how late it is…” the guys echoed. “but the idea of you spending this night alone…”

a bold tenor chimed in, “the idea of you spending this night a-lo-ho-ne~”

you sunk your teeth as deep as they would go into your lips. 

“shattered my heart.” 

after that, the choir returned to a new instrumental song. you let out a calming breath. finally. no more holding in laughter. luke looked just as relieved as you did, if not more.

“did you write all of that?” you asked.

“don’t worry about that.” you cocked an eyebrow at him. “anyway, the real reason i brought this choir was to say the words i meant to say before you left.”

during winter break, you had the genius idea of stopping by camp just to spend a few hours with luke. he’d told you that he had something to say. you may have said goodbye in a little too much of a rush.

luke straightened his posture, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeves. he’d set the chocolate and the roses on the pavement of your doorstep. “i love you,” he said.

the choir echoing those words faded to almost nothing. your limbs went fuzzy. finally. finally, he’d said it. without thinking, you wrapped your arms around luke’s neck. luke placed his hands around your waist. 

“i love you, too,” you said.

he pulled you into a kiss. the choir sang your words in the background. even though his suit was soaking wet with cold rain, the kiss was just as warm as the ones you’d shared during summer. gods, you’d missed him. you pulled away and swept the wet hair from his forehead. he tilted his head. 

“so, how long are you out of camp for?” you asked.

“as long as i need to be.” he winked.

you still got butterflies from the wink. “sleepover?”

“absolutely.” luke let go of you to retrieve the flowers and chocolates from the ground. then, he took your hand and let you lead him inside. you closed the door as the choir went back to an instrumental melody made up of ‘ooh’s and ‘shoo-wop’s. 

[lotusstarlet]

can I be notified for percy and luke?:)

ofc!! :D

[lotusstarlet]

you were drivin' the getaway car

˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ luke castellan x gn!reader

˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ desperate to flee an arranged wedding, your only hope in the middle of a canyon night is a random cowboy. turns out that cowboy isn't so random. in fact, he's your ex.

˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 2.5k words

˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ LIGHT ANGST w/ a HAPPY ENDING. there is almost a bar fight and guns are mentioned

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˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ masterlist 

“y/n, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” an officiant asked.

your sweaty palms interlinked with a suit-wearing stranger’s. the deepest part of a canyon lurked behind you, its depths concealed by the night. anything you said or dropped into the void would echo right back up to you. your breath raced.

an audience full of strangers and estranged family members pointed their phone cameras at you. your limbs tensed, as if they wanted to shrink into a ball. there were too many eyes on you. too many mortal eyes.

you couldn’t do it.

there was only one place to go: back down the aisle.

you dropped the groom’s hands and ran for your life.

you bolted into the canyon night. your outfit tore as you ran, the movement clearly too much for its stiffness. the distant moon was your one guide. where you’d end up? no idea. when you’d stop? no idea. but you had to get far, far away from the wedding.

“get back here!” a familiar voice shouted after you.

you swerved through cactuses and plants. your chest ached. squeezing. your lungs begged for a moment to stop and breathe. but you couldn’t. not yet. 

a distant silhouette popped out of the blue darkness. monster, animal, large tree… whatever it was, it could help you, somehow. you charged your calves with every ounce of strength in your body. 

the silhouette came to light, revealing… a cowboy and a horse? he was kneeling, tending to his horse’s knee. you halted in front of him. as you heaved and bent to catch your breath, he stood up. he tipped the brim of his hat to you.

“howdy,” he said. “everythin’ alr—”

“you need to get me out of here. now. i’ll explain everything later.” you tried to glare at him for dramatic effect, but his hat cast a shadow over his eyes.

the cowboy’s head bobbed as if examining you. you didn’t have time to be examined. whoever was chasing you could catch up at any minute. you jammed your hands into your armpits.

“let’s do that”—you used your own head to gesture to him—”later. get me out of here.”

walking to the horse, you attempted to push yourself onto it, but the rigidity of your outfit made you fall back down to the ground.

the cowboy snapped back into reality, shaking his head lightly. “sorry.”

he swung himself onto the horse effortlessly and extended a hand to you. you didn’t hesitate before taking it. with the collective effort, he managed to pull you onto the saddle. 

“hold on tight,” he said.

as much as you didn’t feel like touching anyone, you wrapped your arms around his waist. the way his body fit in your arms gave you deja vu. 

“g’dy up!” he shouted, whipping the reins.

the horse plunged forward. as your peripheral vision fell to a motion blur, you tried to pinpoint when you could’ve possibly experienced anything like this moment before. not the cowboy, since you’d never met one before. not the horse for the same reason. not the outfit or the place. absolutely nothing pointed to the past. you furrowed your eyebrows.

his paced eased towards a tiny town. a strip of buildings glowed in the moonlight. even though your head was as literally spinning, you could make out the word ‘inn.’ you let out a sigh of relief. the cowboy shuddered in your arms. you grimaced. you’d forgotten he was even there.

once the horse had stopped, the cowboy helped you down. the ground below you was warmer and firmer than it’d ever been in the canyon. with the horse’s feet planted in it, you leaned against it’s heavy body, allowing it to support your weight. you smiled in relief.

in your now clear peripheral, the cowboy removed his hat. you couldn’t help your curiosity. after all, he was the man who saved your life. you looked over.

the center of your chest went hollow. every bone that should’ve held you up was close to dissipating. a lump appeared in your throat, followed by the taste of bile. you clutched the horse, desperate. 

“luke?”

“y/n,” he said.

this wasn’t happening. there was absolutely, positively, no way in hell the cowboy who saved you from your wedding was your ex. let alone the ex who left you at camp so he could ‘focus on the real world.’ 

but, luke leaned against the horse. his arms were crossed as he stared into the distance. you tried to take him in. the way he wasn’t in a camp outfit but a black flannel. and the hat held over his stomach. the way his hair was ever-so-slightly longer than you’d remembered. the way he wasn’t a cocky swordsman anymore, but a considerate cowboy. hm.

“drinks?” he asked, dodging your eyes as soon as you made contact.

you bit your inner lip. the last thing you wanted to do that night was sit in a bar with your ex. but there was no way you could navigate this night sober, no matter where it went.

“sure.”

⟸•🧲•⟹

luke led you through the floppy saloon doors. everything from the literal floor to ceiling was made of wood. every table was surrounded by people drinking and laughing. a payphone hung against one of the walls. wait, no one had phones here? before you could question it any further, the sound of a ‘whoop’ cheer caught your attention.

“lone star luke brought him home a spark!” the bartender shouted, whipping a rag around in the air like a lasso.

the nickname made you chuckle despite yourself. out of every nickname you thought of for luke, lone star was not one of them. luke slumped into a barstool. you followed, taking the barstool next to him.

“sorry about—”

“howdy.” the bartender swooped over. “what can i get ya?”

he leaned awfully close to you, his alcoholic breath close to your face. your nose crinkled. “uh, i’ll start with a water, please.”

the bartender straightened, towering over where you sat like the outside canyon rocks. he turned to luke, huffing. “tell your calico here to read our menu.”

luke shot up from his stool and reached his hand down to his hip. the bar fell silent. you looked over. oh, he had a pistol. reaching for the handle pointedly slow, he held eye contact with the bartender. your heart raced. it was fear and fear only. right? 

the bartender sized him up with a daring smirk, his arms still crossed. luke pulled the gun all the way up. he let it hang on the tip of his finger before spinning it and catching it in his grip. your eyes danced among the sight. why was this oddly… scary. only scary. he pointed it lowly at the bartender.

the bartender held his hands up and slumped. “damn greenhorns,” he mumbled.

luke smiled like he did when he won duels at camp. he put the gun back in the holster. you exhaled, a weight leaving your chest. he sat back down. chatter refilled the room. the bartender remained in front of your spot on the counter, his lips pursed.

“get me a gin,” luke said.

the bartender looked to you. damn, he was ugly. “ya?”

no way you wouldn’t drink after that. “i’ll also have a gin.”

the bartender went to go prepare the drinks. you pinched the bridge of your nose. you weren’t into him, you’d just ran away from your wedding and were feeling… vulnerable. luke turned to you, leaning one arm against the counter. maybe you were. nope. no.

“sorry,” luke said. “that bartender is always an asshole.”

you tapped your fingertips against the counter. “what’s a calico anyway?”

“something no one should ever be called.”

meaning…? you parted your lips to ask, but luke avoided your eyes again. it was going to be a long night. he cleared his throat, finally. 

“so, what’s with the outfit? and what’re you even doin’ out in the canyon?” he asked.

you tilted your head. “i could ask the same.”

two drinks slammed on the counter, projecting droplets onto the wood. luke glared at the bartender. the bartender backed away with a scoff. you stifled a laugh. everything about this moment seemed so fake. especially the way you almost blushed at that. why would you even do that?

“only one of us has a hat and a horse,” luke said after taking a sip.

you sighed. “well, i got sick of camp, so… i had to fulfill my arranged marriage promise i never even made with my parents.”

luke’s face faltered. “they held that up?”

you took a sip of your drink. the gin was pleasant, smoothing your mouth that’d turned as dry as the canyon. “yes.”

as soon as the first sip hit your stomach, you thought of something. you straightened your posture. you could give luke even a drop of a taste of his own medicine. 

“sure, he’s a mortal, but he’s better than no one,” you said. “at least i’d get adjusted to the real world with someone else.”

you took another sip as soon as you said that. luke frowned. he held the glass in both hands, rocking it back and forth on the bar. was it working? hopefully?

“then why’d you run?” luke asked, finally, his voice strained.

you pursed your lips. you genuinely didn’t have an answer for that. well, you did, but it wasn’t one you wanted him to hear. so, you went with the first one that came to mind: “just felt like it.”

luke nodded solemnly. he took another sip of his drink. if that was the luke who’d left you, he would’ve retorted. but he didn’t. you sat there, waiting, but there was nothing but the sound of chatter and glasses clinking against wood.

“what’re you doing later, then?” he asked.

you shrugged. you hadn’t really thought about any of this when you’d bolted from the wedding, but it wasn’t like you had any other choice than to say: “probably going to spend the night.”

luke raised his eyebrows.

you took a sip. “at the inn.”

he took another sip. then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out cash. he handed you some. “you’ll need it.”

you took the money and immediately washed that decision down with a sip of gin. for a moment, you two were the only ones not talking in the saloon. you could only take it for a second before the memories threatened to creep back in. 

“so, what’s the town like?” you asked.

⟸•🧲•⟹

you walked into the inn. the lobby was quiet at this time. it was simple, with just a few chairs and an empty staircase. an innkeeper sat behind the desk. 

“hey, room for one?” you asked.

“we’re all booked. sorry, hun.” she frowned.

your stomach sunk. shit. what were you going to do now? sleep on the street? join the stables with the horses? somehow get back to the wedding and sleep on the chairs?

you thanked her and left. the hot, dry air encapsulated you. now that the saloon had closed, the town was dead silent. aside from luke. he leaned against the side of the building. 

you winced. you’d forgotten that he told you he’d make sure you got a room. 

“they’re fully booked,” you said.

luke raised his eyebrows. “um, i have a guest room.”

you sighed. between that and sleeping on the dirt, you knew the better option. despite everything in your body that told you no, you said ‘okay.’

⟸•🧲•⟹

luke led you to the guest room of his cabin. it was simple and cozy, with just a bed and a nightstand. a large window looked out at the canyon rocks and cacti, illuminated by the golden moonlight. ex aside, you could see yourself definitely getting used to a view like that. you shuddered at that thought.

luke gave you a once-over. “do you want something more comfortable to sleep in?”

you hated how you didn’t even hesitate before saying “yes.”

he walked out, leaving you all the silence you needed to second guess that. were you a complete idiot? absolutely. but he was right. sleeping in a wedding outfit, let alone a torn up one, was beyond ideal. but luke’s clothes weren’t much better, no matter how your heart raced.

luke came back holding a pair of sweatpants and an old flannel. you took them. thankfully they didn’t smell exactly how you remembered him. they smelled more mature now, more woodsy. and that was worse.

luke looked at you for a second, as if the sight was rare. then, he said “night. i’ll take you back tomorrow morning.”

tomorrow morning. right. “night,” you said.

you laid in bed, staring out the window of the guest room. you traced the edges of the stones. their oranges were darkened by the blue night. stars glittered in the sky. you hoped you’d never forget this view.

you thought about the wedding. sure, you’d marry some guy you’d never met, and he was a mortal, but… no. you didn’t want to go into the mortal world. you never had. and you definitely didn’t want to be forced into it with a mortal man.

but had you just thrown away your only opportunity at a smooth transition? the thought made your stomach ache. you’d spent all of your lonely time at camp since luke had left hoping the mortal world he’d left you for was good enough for that.

you turned over to face the shut bedroom door. right, luke. he was so caring now. about the gun he’d pulled, the words he’d said to defend you… how had he become so much better than the man you knew him as? and how could he have ever left you?

you placed your hand over your eyes. there was no way you were considering staying. no way. you’d be betraying your past self. but… could it really be that bad? would it really be that bad? it wasn’t like you had any desire to deal with the consequences of your actions. and with no cellular service, this place seemed like a perfect hideout.

sighing, you sat up. you got out of bed and walked down the hallway to luke’s room. his door was cracked open. you carefully pushed it far enough to slip in through the gap. he appeared to be sleeping on his side. unfortunately, you couldn’t see all of his face. or maybe that was a good thing.

“luke?” you said.

as soon as he started to shuffle, you turned the lights on. his eyes slowly came open. “yeah?” his voice was raspy, his hair dishelved… shit.

you leaned against the doorway. “i think i’ll stay for a few days, if that’s okay. just… before i figure all of this out.”

“of course, love, as long as you need,” he said.

you smiled despite yourself, the nickname causing an instinctual reaction. fondly, you shook your head. he was still half-asleep, which somehow made it funnier. as soon as you let out a slightest sound of a laugh, he sat up with wide eyes. “i didn’t mean—”

“thanks, love.” you winked.