winning is my trademark
˚ʚ ꒰🫂꒱ percy jackson x cabin 17 gn!reader
˚ʚ ꒰📖꒱ reader asked their mother, Nike, to enchant an anklet with a guarantee of victory in the game of winning percy jackson over. the one condition their mother gave? there was no way to predict when the conquest would be bestowed.
˚ʚ ꒰🖋️꒱ 5.9k words
˚ʚ ꒰⚠️꒱ FLUFF. one lightly suggestive joke, fair amount of swearing, reader and percy are both awkward af, the opposite of a slow burn, corny
˚ʚ ꒰🗣️꒱ if you are interested in understanding reader's backstory better, i posted a prologue here
🪷✧˚₊‧༉ / playlist 🎧
˚ʚ ꒰🔗꒱ chapter index | prologue 1 (current) 2 3
as you got older and your sibling responsibilities increased, you began to dedicate twenty minutes of every morning to taking a walk around the camp forest. it gave you time to think of, well, everything about life. it was the best part of your day.
that day wasn’t any different. you woke up, got dressed into something a little more presentable than your pajamas, and quietly left your cabin to head for the forest. when you got there, the forest was as beautiful as ever. tall green trees with sun rays pouring through the leaves, bathing the paths in a fresh, white sunlight. the only sounds were the breeze and the occasional chatter of nymphs.
you inhaled the coniferous scent dramatically like you were the ‘girl who’s going to be okay’ in every romance movie, eyes closed and everything. a few meditative seconds passed before you started your usual route along one of the curved paths. the dirt crumpled beneath you with every step. as the past few days had been pretty peaceful, no stressors needed to be thought through. instead, you had the opportunity to simply stroll along and enjoy the world around you for once.
a nymph with green skin and blonde hair gave you a smile. you reciprocated with a wave. you two had never talked, but after seeing each other every morning, an unspoken relationship was formed. every day that passed was another opportunity for conversation that neither of you seemed to be interested in seizing. you didn’t mind, though, since the entire point of your morning constitutionals were to get away from the conflicts of life–which, in your case, were mostly relationships.
as you continued forward with the cadence of someone who was born to take this route, a noise in front of you startled you right out of that. somewhere, in the near distance, were two male voices. they were simply talking at a respectable morning volume, but you never expected company outside of nymphs. you squinted ahead of you to evaluate for an answer. when not even a blur came up in your vision, you shrugged but kept note of it in your mind.
the voices got closer and closer. one of them got loud enough to come into your earshot. it was laced with the kind of passion reserved to when someone’s enthusing about one of their passions. the topic got into focus just as you approached a tree to take a turn–a story that had something to do with seahorses. you eavesdropped, simply because whoever was telling it had a way of making it sound like the most suspenseful thing ever.
though, when you passed by the tree, your side was bumped into. you jolted backwards a few inches and made eye contact with percy. his sea green eyes made you feel like you were drowning, the way your breathing sped up.
“shit,” his voice softened. “i am so sorry. are you alright? i was so busy yapping that i didn’t even notice.”
“uh,” you tried to speak, but the way percy’s face was molded into such a caring expression because of you made it impossible.
his satyr friend hid behind him as the silence thickened.
“yeah.” you managed. “thanks.”
percy’s eyes remained widened as he stared at you for a few seconds, almost as if he were scanning you. you couldn’t tell what for, but, you didn’t mind either way. then, he readjusted and gave you a nod.
“of course.” he smiled before continuing to walk.
as he got further and further down the path, something pulsed around your ankle. it was warm, fuzzy, and tingly, almost like the aftereffect of a cat rubbing up against you. you looked down to see the gold of your chain flashing light over and over again.
“no way.” you whispered.
⛓•⛓
campers were slowly filling up each target at the archery range as the minutes got closer and closer to the official starting time. you’d just finished cleaning up the materials from the greek language class you taught. unfortunately, some of the younger campers were feeling a little too hyper, so they made a bigger mess of the pencils than usual. instead of lecturing them like the Ares kids would, you just scoffed to yourself and made the mental note to clean it up after class.
because no good deed goes unpunished, it ended up in you having to practically run across camp to the archery range. if Chiron saw you, he would’ve given you a lecture about being a good role model to the younger campers. you stopped a few feet away to slowly regain your breath and wipe your forehead of sweat.
the sunny weather was relentless, and you could’ve sworn Apollo arranged it so the archery range was extra hot, since the heat radiated towards you. like many other inconveniences today, you gave it a few seconds of tolerance. but, when that yet again didn’t do anything good, you finally gave in to turning around. the breeze reverted back to normal as soon as you were facing the other way.
a few breaths later, you were beginning to regain control of your body. the usual Nike-blessed strength was replenished. your muscles were yours again and you were back in the body of a winner. turning on your heel, you made your way past the wooden excuse of a sign that indicated where you were, walking right back into the now manageable scorching air.
will solace was already at the front giving instructions for that day. you didn’t catch much of it as you were walking past every target searching for a spot, but something about it being an ‘independent learning day’ made it through your trance. it was ridiculous how there wasn’t a single free target between any of the campers. you groaned as you reached the end of the row. as if it were a blessing, the farthest target was open.
you let out a satisfied exhale and approached it urgently. the air seemed to have cooled down as soon as you went still. everyone had already begun shooting arrows, some hitting the target while others didn’t. one kid a few feet away from you made a bullseye and let out a loud cheer. you took that as your cue to pick up your own bow. the dark wood was burning hot against your skin.
taking a grounding breath—something you’d learned was crucial in battles of all kinds—you narrowed your eyes at your target. the black rings and red bullseye had grown familiar as ever to you after taking this class for years on end. archery, not so much, but it was a fun experience regardless. plus, any environment where you could get a break from having to constantly be the child of the goddess of victory was one you cherished.
you got in the zone after about two missed shots. each proceeding one got you closer and closer to the center. the pulling of the bow began to feel as natural as ever, the string seeming to accumulate to your fingers. it clicked every time it was released and a small whistle could be heard as the arrow flew forward. the noise was more and more satisfying each time. soon enough, you were in a soothing metronome.
until will was finishing up his rounds and came up to whoever was standing next to you. you took another grounding deep breath as he began to speak, reminding yourself of the control you have regardless of nearby interruptions.
“you want any guidance, percy?” will asked with his usual disarming lack of judgment. the name made you immediately look towards its utterer.
just a few inches away from him was exactly who you feared—percy. you weren’t sure whether or not he was there when you arrived. your stomach churned either way. you knew in your heart that it was stupid to be scared of percy in this scenario, but, you did spend the past two days ruminating about whether or not you made it obvious you liked him that morning in the forest or if he could see the way your anklet glowed when he was near.
“i think i’ve got it.” percy replied. it wasn’t until he flashed his eyes away that you realized he was looking at you.
something skeptical flicked across will’s eyes, but he nodded. he took a quick glance at your target and saw your near-successes. he raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms like a dad at a sports game.
“wow, you’re doing great.” he remarked through a smile. “let me get you some more arrows, though.”
will reached in his pocket to grab more arrows. in the process, percy’s attention was completely averted from the task at hand and switching between you and will. his lips were turned noticeably downward, but not enough to be a complete frown. as if to make the moment even more intense, your anklet warmed the embrace it had around your skin.
“here.” he handed them to you in a bunch. then, he turned and walked away.
you accidentally met percy’s eyes as you were turning away. he seemed to mirror you and do the same. it was such an obvious attempt at pretending like he wasn’t looking at you, but, you didn’t pry. instead, you loaded your bow with another arrow and got right back into the flow.
three near-success shots later, percy waited until you were about to grab another arrow to break that streak.
“y/n?” he said your name like he wasn’t entirely sure he had the capability to do so. “could i.. ask you for some pointers? i’m just having a super off day today and you clearly aren’t, so.” a half beat of silence passed before he continued with: “wait, that sounded so passive aggressive, i didn’t mean it like that. i just meant, you’re clearly a lot more talented at this than i am, and-”
“i got you.” you interrupted as warmly as you could.
something unusual—probably the way your class went so horribly that you still needed to get that teaching fix in—drew you to saying yes to that request. you had yet to make any bullseyes yourself, but by the way your anklet was continuing to constrain your ankle in tingles, it seemed like you could put aside that need for victory to help percy. so, you took a step over to get a bit closer.
“okay. first, take a shot, and i’ll give you my critique.” you said.
percy obeyed and drew the string back. he released the shot with a little too much eagerness. regardless, it was the closest hit to the bullseye of all of the ones he’d already taken that day. he lowered the bow to look over at you expectantly.
“that was good.” you remarked after turning your attention away from the target. “the main thing i noticed was that you released that shot a bit quick.”
percy blinked. then, after a moment, he finally seemed to get back into his body, and responded with: “okay, slower pull.”
he turned to face the target again. picking up his bow, he made a clear effort to slow the way he pulled back the string. in fact, it was so slow that the usual sound it made was absent. percy glanced at you just as he was about to fire. when you gave him an approving nod, he let go. the bow glided through the air with a smoothness unlike anything either of you had seen today.
before either of you could fully process what you were watching, it splintered the wooden bullseye circle and made a cracking noise.
percy broke into a toothy grin, throwing both of his hands up. as much as he was acting like a complete amateur who had zero skill in the sport and won for the first time, it was somehow endearing regardless. your anklet seemed to give a squeeze as you looked at his smile for a second longer. a small flush crept onto your cheeks.
“thank you so much.” he said, his face softening.
“uh,” you were back to being your normal, not-so-confident self. that, and, your anklet was speeding up its pulse. “of course, yeah.”
“okay, everyone.” will shouted, causing you both to turn forward. “we are going onto the bullseye competition now. whoever gets the most precise bullseye wins.”
some campers started drawing back the strings of their bows, but he raised a hand to stop them. “but,” he emphasized pointedly. “austin and i are going to clear the boards first. if you shoot either of us or at the board, you’re disqualified. capiche?”
“capiche.” a choir of voices of various ages echoed.
will and austin got on the task fairly quickly, with austin making his way towards the left and will making his way towards the right. the idle campers turned to each other to create chatter. you crossed your arms and tapped your fingers against your elbows. the anklet had slowed down somewhat but was definitely still noticeable. as nice of a feeling as it was, it was also distracting.
percy’s foot crunched against the grass as he tapped it in a similar rhythm. he started whistling, too. it was like he was a stock image of a bored man. to make it even better, he didn’t seem like he was being sarcastic, either. you closed your eyes and swallowed back the grin that was starting to form on your face.
a few minutes later, the targets were clean and will screamed ‘go!’ you jolted awake and made a quick aim for the target. drawing the arrow back carefully, you let it go and watched as it flew forward towards the bullseye. so close, so close, so- your mental chanting was interrupted by it hitting just below. you shook your head, accepting your defeat.
paying a little too much attention to your peripheral, you saw percy about to make his shot. the anklet had sped up again. you looked down to see that it was still as active as ever. as you became hypnotized by the darkening and brightening of the gold, a familiar sound played in the distance.
you looked up to see that percy’s arrow had made a bullseye. and, from where you were looking, there was no denying that it was right on the money.
percy himself blinked and narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. he even went as far as to visor his vision from the sun. it was hard to tell whether or not he was being serious or just exaggerating for the hell of it. either way, the heat creeping up to your cheeks told you that you’d been staring for way too long, so you looked away.
a few arrows were released from other campers. percy let out a questioning noise and relaxed his body. as if on cue, will quickly asked if anyone else had yet to take a shot. when nobody broke the answer-determining silence, him and austin took the same routes as before and began examining each target.
they walked past each one that was so obviously not a bullseye. with only a handful of stops, it didn’t take long before austin reached where you and percy were standing. he raised his eyebrows to look over at yours quickly. then, he got really close to percy’s target and began examining it in the same way you assumed he did patients in the infirmary. his eyes went through the same motions as yours and percy’s did.
meanwhile, percy didn’t seem incredibly affected by it. it was hard to tell, since, he was simply looking down at his feet. but, when you looked at him again, you saw how he occasionally snuck glances up to the target. you caught yourself looking between him and austin as you waited.
the chatter of the field went completely dead when austin held his thumb up towards will and yelled, “we have a winner!”
everyone’s eyes followed as will dashed over to percy’s target. as soon as he arrived, he too examined it thoroughly. the range was completely silent, no one’s mouth threatening to move in fear of jinxing this moment. even the wind had stopped. it was so quiet that you could hear percy’s breathing that gradually sped up as the seconds passed.
“congratulations, percy jackson!” will shouted, beaming at percy.
percy raised his eyebrows before going into a smile. the combination of boos and woos coming from the surrounding crowd didn’t seem to matter to him at all. instead of looking at them, he went from the target over to you. his eyes glistened like the ocean on a sunny day. you found the blush on your face had only deepened as his smile grew.
he took a step closer to you and crouched down so you could hear him as he whispered, “thank you so much.” his eye contact was scarily firm.
then, percy stood back up and continued speaking, as if those four words were something that couldn’t have been said at a hearable volume. “i don’t think i could’ve done it without your help.”
you broke into a chuckle. “you’re percy jackson, i think you definitely could’ve.”
percy shook his head. “not today, at least.”
you gave him a small, polite smile before starting to gather the bows you’d laid in front of you. as you made the habitual movements, the anklet continued throbbing. the tingly feeling akin to the squeeze of a million butterflies pulsed just a little slower than your heartrate.
⛓•⛓
it was hard to worry about anything at the weekly camp half-blood bonfire. the crackle of the flames against the wood flared up and down at times, making it relaxing yet unpredictable. laughter and conversations accompanied the warmth already coming from the fire. the night sky was clear enough to see constellations. and, best of all, the sea water was coming up just a few inches away from shore in a mesmerizing rhythm.
you sat on a log near the campfire, roasting a marshmallow as you talked with your siblings. the conversation was so routine that it could’ve very well been a stereotype for your cabin—a debrief of capture the flag. of course, your team won. unfortunately, you and percy were on different teams. as the topic moved onto a specific technique one of your sisters did, it summoned a squeezing feeling in your stomach.
you hadn’t worn your percy-dedicated anklet that day. since your mother gave it one of Her sparing blessings, you vowed to leave it somewhere safe in your cabin on capture the flag days. it was so easy for mud to track up your ankles, and you’d already ruined your weapon anklet enough times to get the idea that jewelry was not a good idea on days like those. regardless, the complete lack of interaction from percy that should’ve been expected had ruined your day.
nobody had mentioned him winning the archery competition after the class—because, what happens in archery stays in archery, as the unfortunate witnesses of a certain incident involving some kid thinking he could play Eros with a real bow and arrow learned—so it wasn’t like he was busy dealing with any additional fans. maybe it was just his busy schedule. or, maybe he was avoiding you. every possibility made its presence known in your mind.
unfortunately, as you were zoning out on the way your marshmallow was blackening under the flame, you didn’t notice percy sitting down on the sand next to you—since your stubborn younger sister refused to give up her log chair. it wasn’t until he said your name at a volume loud enough to draw a few stares that you finally jolted awake, dropping your marshmallow in the fire.
“shit.” you hissed. one of the siblings closer to your age cocked an eyebrow at you.
meanwhile, percy laughed.
you brushed your lap off as if there was something on it. then, you looked over to him. “uh, hi.”
“hey.” percy looked up at you through his eyelashes. like most guys, he had annoyingly long, luscious lashes.
a beat of silence passed between the two of you. percy’s eyes wandered along your face as he tried to read your expression. but, as the seconds passed, the expression quickly became stained with a flush. in a desperate attempt to draw his attention away from it, you broke the silence with the first thing you could think of.
“so, capture the flag today.” you said hollowly, clearing your throat.
“yeah.” percy nodded, averting his gaze. “congratulations on winning.”
“thanks. it was mostly my sibling’s work, though.”
“mm.”
well, your attempt at better conversation was thrown right into the fire itself, as percy fell silent again. you wanted to try something else, but, you remembered that phrase that said something about fooling you twice. helplessly, you looked down at your feet and said a mental prayer to no one that percy would break the silence.
your anklet starting pulsing again. with the night sky, the shining was much more noticeable. percy’s eyes trailed over it. he tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows, trying to get a closer look. you wanted to bang your head against the wall as you pretended not to notice—not because you wanted to look away, but, rather, it was like percy was intentionally dragging this out to get a reaction out of you.
“how is your anklet glowing?” he didn’t look at you, but when he asked, it was softer than you expected. “is it enchanted or something?”
FUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKK, a groan dragged out in your mind. fighting a sigh, you answered with a simple “yes.”
percy gave it one last glance then looked away, another satisfied hum leaving his lips. you let out a sigh of relief through your nose. the conversation was redeeming itself already, aside from the painful silence that just kept dragging and dragging and dragging and-
“would you ever want to hang out?” he asked out of the blue, looking up at you like that was the most innocent question ever.
you blinked. you searched percy’s face just to make sure this wasn’t a trick—whether from the gods or your own desperate mind. the firelight only made his face more beautiful. the orange light from the fire basked his skin and made it looked blessed by every fire god out there. the blue current in his eyes shone with the reflection of fire, despite how those should contradict each other. it was hard to remember the objective at hand until he pointed his forehead towards you questioningly.
“uh,” you cleared your throat. “yeah, sure. where’d you have in mind?”
“here?” he said with a lot less hesitation than you hoped. “the beach, but, obviously another time. it’s not private enough right now.”
you furrowed your eyebrows at the use of the word ‘private.’
“wait, wait, wait.” percy pinched his forehead. “oh my gods. i didn’t mean it like that. it’s.. it’s not like that.” he removed his hand just as quickly as it came up. “i am so sorry.” he said, looking you in the eye. you had to force the upcoming grin back down your throat at just how sincere he was being.
“it’s not like that at all. i completely respect you and i don’t-” he sighed. “okay. that’s enough.”
“definitely.” you finally felt safe enough to giggle.
percy ran a hand through his hair as he joined you. his voice was one thing, his hair and face another, but his laugh? his laugh even made the anklet itself excited. it pulsed quicker than ever, the light blinking rapidly like a turn signal of a car. if it were a person, it’d be clapping its hands and smiling like a baby. and that couldn’t mean nothing in this situation, not when it was blessed by a goddess of victory.
“ah,” percy sighed as he came down from his giggling. “okay.” he looked back up at you. “how about tomorrow, six?”
“a saturday at six pm? that’s like, the second most crowded time for the beach.”
“good point.” percy nodded. “how about monday at 6?”
you thought about it for a moment before saying, “great.”
⛓•⛓
the weekend passed so much slower than you hoped. it felt like four days instead of two. saturdays were always more relaxed at camp, but, that one felt a little too relaxed. even the mealtimes felt like they were moving at a mockingly slow speed.
your impatience got the best of you that night, forcing you to look through your closet. after a good hour, you finally found a swimsuit that felt perfect for the date. it wasn’t too show-offish but it also wasn’t too reserved. it was the perfect mixture between them both. and, to top it all off, it was a cute sky blue, which, if you remembered correctly, was at least a version of percy’s favorite color.
now, it was finally monday night. the weekends were one thing, but monday was a whole other one. you messed up so badly while teaching one of your classes that every younger camper in it burst out laughing. you wished you could say it pissed you off, but, instead, it just hurt. it was almost impossible not to take everything seriously when you’re taking the… date—or, that’s what you’ve been calling it in your head—you have in a few hours as seriously as your wedding. you could only hope the same person would elicit both responses.
in the cabin mirror usually reserved for victory pep talks, you gave your hair one last check before heading for the beach. like most weeknights at camp, but especially gloomy monday ones, it was quiet while most campers were in the comfort of their own cabin. the sun was slowly beginning to set, its declining rays casting a glow on the cabins. with everything so similar to your morning walk, your heart was able to slow down.
you eventually arrived at the beach. the sun was making its way closer to being swallowed by the horizon. as you took in the sight, you were so engulfed in it that you didn’t see or hear percy running up to you.
“hey.” he smiled, his teeth like pearls pulled straight from his father’s blessed ocean.
“hi.” you said softly.
percy looked away for a moment. the beach was back to being completely silent aside from the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. if you stayed for too long, you could’ve easily fallen asleep standing up.
“you look.. uh,” he gulped. “you look nice.”
your anklet started pulsing again. “thank you.” you said, looking up from percy after looking at your anklet like it was a misbehaving child.
percy scratched the back of his neck. his own eyes darted down to look at the anklet again. they stayed put for a moment as if a question were brewing in his head. desperate to avoid blushing any further, you looked up to the sea again.
“will that tarnish in the water?” percy asked.
you let out a questioning sound. that wasn’t something you’d ever considered. despite the fact it was blessed by your mother, there was no guarantee it was immune to aging like any jewelry did. you tried to remember if leo said anything about it, narrowing your eyes to focus. with the result in mind, you answered: “honestly, it probably will.”
“hmm.” percy tapped his fingers against where his hands were placed on his hip.
thanks a lot, mom, you thought to yourself.
“i wonder if i could somehow protect it from the effects,” he said through his thoughts. you pursed your lips.
catching that, percy added, “where did you get it? was it a magical gift from your mom?”
“uh, yeah. i don’t know if you should.. mess with it.” you immediately regretted your word choice. “only because it just..”—totally not because it’s enchanted for you to fall in love with me, you wanted to say.—“it’s one of a kind.”
you straightened your posture with a confidence you definitely didn’t actually have. percy nodded then looked back up at you.
“should we just sit on the dock, then?” he asked with a tone that screamed he was desperate to get out of this exchange.
“yeah.” you answered with a similar cadence. “of course.”
percy reached his hand out but quickly pulled it back after a second, not even giving you a chance to properly react. he turned on his heel and began leading you forward.
as if it were karma directly from your mother, your flipflops flopped embarrassingly loud as you made your way through the sand. they were like some sort of cursed shovel—picking up sand with each step and throwing it against your ankles. so much for this anklet to stay clean, you thought to yourself.
the wood of questionable durability creaked under you as you and percy made your way onto the dock. in all your years at camp, the one thing that stayed the same since your arrival was everyone’s fears surrounding the dock. while it only ended up stretching out to where the lake hits about eight feet deep, no one wanted the title given for managing to break the wood. thankfully, you and percy both made it to the ledge safely.
when you arrived, you took off your flipflops to let your feet dangle freely over the water. in the process, you gave your anklet a warning glance, telling it that it absolutely cannot fall into the water. whether or not it listened was unclear, since it just responded with more pulsing.
percy watched as you sat down next to him. his eyes followed the exact downward path you took as if there was a laser attached to you and he was a cat. normally, if this brought on platonic feelings like it was supposed to, you’d tease him about it. instead, you just looked down at the water and waited for the pressure of his gaze to dissipate.
“so,” percy started. “i would ask you to tell me about yourself, but i feel like i wouldn’t really be able to tell you about myself.”
you laughed. “why not?”
“because..” you looked at him expectantly long enough for him to sigh in defeat. “i don’t know, it’s kind of just the usual cabin and job introduction, y’know?”
you nodded, your face softening. “yeah.” you added. “being a senior counselor is so consuming.”
“definitely. being a demigod in general.”
you wished percy’s words were an invitation to pry about his life—since, you so badly wanted to feed the crush of your younger self by proving you made it—but they weren’t. they were nothing more than normal conversation. normal, platonic conversation. instead of filling the silence, you let it hang, hoping percy would take the lead without making this way more awkward than it already was.
“so, you teach that one class about sportsmanship, right?” he must’ve heard your silent prayer. when you nodded, he added, “what made you start that class anyway?”
you chuckled as the memories started floating in. looking up at him, you said: “well, as cheesy as it sounds, i’ve always had a bit of a different definition of victory.”
percy hiked his eyebrows.
“when i was younger, my siblings used to get mad at me for not winning such miniscule things that no one even remembered later on. i didn’t care for that kind of victory. that loud and annoying and in your face kind.”
“what kind of victory did you care for?” percy asked softly.
you looked away to the water below you instead of the one in percy’s sea green irises. it was becoming way too inviting like a siren.
“love. friends and family. the biggest victory, to me, is building a relationship with others.” you explained, a warm flutter starting in your chest.
percy went silent for a moment. then, he broke it and said: “me too.”
he paused as if he understood the weight of those words. you blinked.
“i always think the best part of victory is the post-game hugs or handshakes or whatever.” he continued.
you nodded. the silence felt too vulnerable for you to break just yet. plus, you wanted to allow percy to have any more time he needed, since something in his voice made it seem like he wasn’t quite done yet. the calm sound of swishing water took over your hearing again.
the relaxing moment was cut short by the sound of a small plop against the water.
when you looked down, your anklet was gone. the echoing drop that came up afterward almost acted as an arrow to where it was. you gasped. just as you were about to look over to percy, he dove into the water right in front of you.
you leaned down to try to see what he was doing in the water. he swam through the waves like they parted just for him. he stopped after a few seconds. you stayed frozen, as if his success was dependent on whether or not you moved.
percy popped out of the waves right in front of you. you jolted back, placing a hand on your chest. as soon as he showed you your anklet, you let out a sigh of relief.
“you dropped this.” he grinned.
you smiled as you reached to grab it. but, percy didn’t let you. instead, he placed it around your ankle himself. your breathlessness returned.
“thank you.” you said as he pushed himself back onto the dock.
“of course.” percy replied with an alarming lack of sarcasm.
⛓•⛓
the rest of the hangout was spent in warm conversation. somehow, things flowed easier between the two of you after the anklet incident. you wanted to curse the sun for setting so quickly. as night fell on the shore and you and percy let out a few yawns, you both came to the decision that it was time to wrap it up.
so, you two made your way down the dock, through the beach, and back where the path to the cabins started. just as you were about to turn to walk, percy grabbed your wrist to stop you.
“wait,” he said, looking at you wide-eyed. “can i talk to you?”
“sure.” you turned to face him.
percy exhaled. “tonight was really fun.”
the pause he left after that made you think he was done speaking. but, just as you were about to consider turning again, he added: “we should do it again sometime.”
your breath hitched. “uh, yeah.” you tried to excuse the reaction with a polite smile.
percy’s eyes darted everywhere around you except for your face. you, once again, remained completely still as you waited for him to make the next move.
then, without warning, he leaned closer to your face to plant a kiss on the side of your cheek. you let out a small “oh” at the sudden action. when he pulled away, a bashful smile had bloomed on his face along with a blush.
“i’ll see you around.” he added, quickly walking away.
“okay, then..” you muttered to yourself. as you watched, the anklet pulsed as fast as ever, continuing to constrain your ankle with an overwhelmingly warm tenderness.
