Hey guys! This is going to be basically a collection of oneshots, drabbles, and short little PJO stories of various characters, couples, friendships, etc etc. Let me know if you have a request or prompt and I'll see if I can work with it. Hope you all enjoy!
This first one features our favorite couple Frank and Hazel. Takes place around Mark of Athena and House of Hades. Enjoy!
Before the Storm
"Where are we going?"
"Patience. We're almost there."
Hazel gripped Frank's warm hand as she led him throughout the Argo II. Frank had no idea where she was taking him and why she was taking him there, but he knew not to pester her with more questions. She undoubtedly had a surprise planned for him and he was especially jittery on the inside to found out what it was.
Several stairs later, Frank felt the familiar atmosphere of the top deck of the Argo II. He was about to take the blindfold off his eyes when Hazel slapped his hand away.
"Not yet. Hold on."
Hazel disappeared, leaving Frank all by his lonesome. He clenched and unclenched his right hand, feeling as if something was missing, and he realized it was because he was no longer holding Hazel's hand. He always secretly loved it when she randomly intertwined her fingers with his. It was like his other half was finally reuniting with him.
Geez, he thought to himself. That was sappy.
An odd sound came from the other side of the deck. It was slightly muffled, as if it were coming from a speaker, and it took Frank a few seconds to recognize it.
Music.
Moments later, Hazel was back by his side, leading him to the center of the deck. She slowly peeled away his blindfold, and the first thing Frank saw was the darkness around them. As his eyes adjusted, he began to pick out other details: the starry night above them, the record player in the corner, and the beautiful girl standing before him.
"What is all this?" he asked.
Hazel blushed slightly. "We haven't had any alone time in a while, and we both have been working hard on this quest. I thought maybe we could use a break."
Frank broke out into a smile. "A break would be nice."
"Come on. Let's dance."
Frank's smile dropped. "Wait—dance? I—I can't dance."
"Everyone can dance. I'll show you the basics."
Frank allowed her to take the lead. As they stood in the middle of the deck hand-in-hand, Frank got a better look at Hazel. She was wearing a simple skirt and blouse, her hair pulled back neatly. To anyone, this could have been an everyday outfit; but to the daughter of Pluto constantly fighting for her life every day, this was anything but.
Hazel had told Frank to wear something nice, so he was thankfully dressed for the occasion. A button down shirt and khaki pants seemed to work perfectly. Frank wasn't used to wearing these clothes too often, but he always managed to clean up nicely.
"Ready?" Hazel asked, staring up at Frank.
The son of Mars shrugged meekly. "Yeah, sure."
Frank was never the most graceful creature on earth, and when Hazel began teaching him how to dance, that fact became quite evident. She tried to show him a "simple" move—right leg forward, left leg back; right leg back, left leg forward—but he kept getting his timing messed up and ended up moving too quickly or too slowly. Then, when he thought he could keep to the pace of the scratchy record music, he ended up tripping over his too-large of feet and stepping on Hazel's toes. He felt his face flush every time he screwed something up.
"Sorry," he mumbled as he tripped for the seventh time. "I'm so sorry."
Hazel laughed like she was having the time of her life. "Don't worry about it. Keep trying."
Frank felt his hands grow clammy. He let go of Hazel's and rubbed the back of his neck. "I told you I'm no good at dancing."
"You just haven't had much practice."
"We've been going at this for twenty minutes now."
Hazel reached over and took Frank's hand yet again. She gave it a reassuring squeeze and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"You'll get it," she said, and her eyes told Frank that she truly believed he would.
Frank nodded his head. "All right. Let's try this again."
He still was stumbling over his feet, grumbling under his breath the whole time. He was determined to get this move, he had too. Hazel had taken the time to set up this night just for him—he was going to learn this dance move.
"Stop thinking," Hazel instructed. "You're thinking way too much about this. Keep it simple."
Keep it simple. That was something he had told Annabeth before. Maybe he should start taking his own advice.
Frank took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and cleared his mind. He had to stop overthinking things and just feel it happen. He knew he could pick up on this—it truly was a simple move—and all he had to do was feel instead of think.
"One more time," Frank said. He mentally waved the fog away from his head. His mind felt less cloudy now.
Don't think.
Suddenly, like magic, Frank found himself doing what he previously thought was impossible. His feet were going where they had to go, his timing was nearly perfect, and it was all in sync with Hazel and the music. Frank, to his utter disbelief, was dancing.
Hazel laughed. "I told you!"
Frank was smiling like an idiot. Things became a lot easier after that. He let the music flow throughout his body as he effortlessly mastered the simple dance move, thanks to Hazel. Their arms swung back and forth as they got more and more into the music. Frank was actually enjoying himself—something he never thought he could do while dancing. He even threw in a more complicated, improvised move in there just for the heck of it—it was a twirl that led Hazel right into his arms.
They stood there for a while, Frank's arms wrapped around Hazel, his chin resting on her head, all while staring at the night sky out in the distance. They swayed slowly to the music, though it didn't quite match the beat, but neither of them cared much. As long as they were together, they were happy.
"Where did you even get a record player?" Frank asked suddenly.
"Leo had one, though don't ask me why. This is some of the stuff I used to listen to back in New Orleans."
"I like it," Frank said. "It's comforting."
Frank wasn't sure if the comfort came from the music itself or the association of the music with Hazel, but he knew one thing for sure—he was going to start listening to it more often.
That night, despite being the calm before the storm, was perfect.
Hope you enjoyed. Send me prompts/requests in the reviews or PM or whatever. I'm open to a lot of things and always looking for new ideas.
~Serena
