PIPER

PIPER REALLY WAS FED UP OF GETTING KIDNAPPED. The seven were trapped in a dimly lit cave where a minor goddess had supposedly sent her 'best minions' after them. It wasn't much, just a couple dozen wind spirits, though everyone was greatly weakened from their trip to the House of Hades the previous week. Especially Percy and Annabeth.

When they had first seen them exit that lift, they just looked horrendous. Deep cuts decorated their stomachs and broken bones stuck out in random places. Their skin was littered with red scratches and blue bruises; their clothes were ripped and stained and their eyes had this haunted look in them, just what you would expect to see after experiencing the darkest pits of Hell.

Throughout the week, they had gotten better, though they were still obviously mentally scarred and drained. They had lost the majority of wounds they had received in Tartarus (gods, even the name of that place made Piper shiver) and had even managed to gain the weight they lost with the help of ambrosia and nectar. For the first day or two, they locked themselves in Percy's room and hardly acknowledged anyone else, though they had seemed to realise that the rest of the people on Argo II were merely trying to help them. Thankfully, Percy seemed to be back to normal, though once in a while Piper would walk onto the deck and notice him staring out at sea, a broken look in his beautiful eyes.

If anyone didn't deserve that, it was Percy.

He had been through so much and he was only a year older than Piper. To think she had thought her life had been hard. Retrieving Zeus' lightning bolt . . . traveling through the Sea of Monsters . . . baring the weight of the sky . . . traveling through the labyrinth . . . battling (and beating) Kronos when he was only sixteen . . . being torn away from his family, his girlfriend, his life and being kept asleep for months on end . . . .

Piper was sixteen and she couldn't imagine fighting the King of the Titans now and probably ever.

Whenever she had come across the son of Poseidon in such a state, she would not hesitate to give him a much-needed hug. He would wrap his muscular, scarred arms around her and she would rest her head on his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily (he was much too tall for her to even think about placing her head on his shoulder). They hadn't known each other all that long, but he was already like a brother to her; a fun, loving but lost brother.

Yet, as Piper shot Percy a glance, she noticed that despite the worrying situation they were in, he still managed to be a source of defiance and hope. She was standing to his left, with Jason to her left, who had Leo to his left. To Percy's right, he had (of course) Annabeth, with Hazel to her right, with Frank to her right, making Percy in the middle. They were all stood so that their shoulders were touching — overlapping in some cases. Wind spirits were surrounding them, their cold glares almost daring them to move, their icy hands gripping demigods' wrists behind them, holding them in place.

A beautiful, hazy voice filled the room as an icy breeze swept by them. "Hello, demigods," A woman, who was obviously a minor goddess judging by her aura and demeanor greeted. "Don't even try to fight against us; I have taken your weapons, and you won't be getting them back anytime soon."

Piper studied the woman, trying to work out who she was, when Annabeth piped up.

"You're Selene," Annabeth said. "Goddess of the moonlight."

How Annabeth knew that, Piper had no idea. However, Selene looked impressed, and it was only as the goddess turned to face them did Piper notice the admittedly pretty, silver shade of her eyes. The colour of the moon.

"Correct, daughter of Athena." she praised. "Most people call me a goddess of the moon. That is incorrect. I am the moonlight." To prove her point, she faded into a shimmering mist that resembled the light yellow colour of the moon. She regained her form as she spoke once again. "Of course, this angers me. Gaea has promised me full recognition, and I will finally become the proper goddess of the Moon, when she finally gets rid of that pesky maiden goddess. I mean, who would want to swear off boys for good? That's ridiculous, they're all so handsome . . . gods, how I would enjoy torturing that Artemis myself. How she became an Olympian over me, I can't ever be sure. Probably just because of her Dad."

Percy growled, the inhumane sound surprising everyone, causing all heads to turn to him. Piper distinctly remembered how Artemis was one of the only Olympians who were actually kind to him. She figured he had the right to be angry.

Selene seemed startled for a second, but quickly regained her fluttery facade as she turned to face the fuming demigod.

"Ah, Percy Jackson!" She gave him a once over, eyes trailing down his body as she licked her lips. "Yes, I see you've inherited your father's good looks." Her flirty eyes met his and she took a step forward, coming face to face with him (or in her case, face to chest; Percy really was too tall for his own good).

Piper didn't really blame her; as a daughter of Aphrodite (in the loosest of terms), she appreciated beauty. And Percy definitely held a lot of it. She had never really come across someone quite as attractive as him. Don't get her wrong, she loved Jason to pieces and with the life they live, she wouldn't dare to even think about being with anyone else. With his outstanding courage, military cut blond hair, striking blue eyes and the amount of adoration they held whenever he so much as glanced at her, she couldn't think of someone better. But there was something about Percy that just grabbed everyone's attention. She knew that if she wasn't dating Jason, and if Percy wasn't dating one of her best friends, Annabeth, then she would definitely see him as more than a brotherly figure (seeing as they have no relation). What, with that toned body from all the years of training and risking his life, his strong, tan arms, defined jawline, those plump lips, the perfect angle of his nose, his beautiful black-as-ebony hair that seemed to be as wild as the sea, and the crashing waves that he called eyes, how could anyone not be attracted to him?

Besides the physicalities, Percy was just so good. No matter the situation, no matter the consequences for himself, or the state he was in, Percy led them all through hell and back. He faced monster after monster knowing that he had to be strong for everyone else. Power radiated off of him more than anyone she had ever met; to be honest, she wouldn't be surprised if he was a god himself. The constant acts of bravery he displayed in spite of how much he had suffered never ceased to amaze her. She admired him to no end. He was constantly battered and bruised, traumatised by everything that life threw at him, yet he always managed to crack a joke and smile as if he had no care in the world. A smile that Piper thought could stop a raging war.

But he was Annabeth's, and Piper had never seen two people share so much love in her life.

Speaking of Annabeth, she looked as if she wanted to strangle the goddess though the wind spirits held her back. Percy merely looked uncomfortable, his jaw still set angrily with his veins straining against his tan skin, as if trying to restrain himself from setting off an earthquake. Everyone else was flicking their eyes between the two, not really knowing what to do or daring to speak up.

"Gods, your jaw looks amazing when you do that," she purred, running a finger down his arm. "Personally, I think you should ditch the demigodsand become my almighty immortal husband. After we kill these six, of course. No need for dead weight in our palace, correct?"

Piper was determined not to die today. Using charmspeak, she tried to convince the goddess to release them. "Please, milady of the moonlight, could you please just let us free?"

Selene merely laughed, as if Piper was a form of amusement to her. "You thought your silly charmspeak would work on me? How sweet. I see that along with her beauty, you've also inherited your mother's idiocy. What a shame."

Piper was deeply offended and felt immediately felt Jason tense beside her. He knew better than to open his mouth, especially with wind spirits (who hate his father) holding him. Piper appreciated his protectiveness all the same.

Percy, however, didn't hold back yet another snark. "Don't talk about Piper like that!"

Piper's heart felt as if it were the size of a balloon. A rush of affection sent towards the son of Poseidon surged through her. They hadn't known each other very long, but Percy protected her like they had grown up together. She couldn't put into words how much she appreciated that.

"One day, Percy Jackson, you're going to be my immortal partner. And in a couple millennia, I'm going to turn to you in our palace and say 'I told you so.'"

Piper saw Percy's face adapt one of disgust while next to him, Annabeth bit back insults to the moonlight goddess.

Selene, seemingly oblivious to this, carried on speaking. "And you're going to forget all about your little demigod friends." Her eyes skimmed over everyone once again, waving off their attempts to escape. "I don't see why you're all struggling. You're going to die anyways, might as well relax in your last few minutes."

The room went quiet for a second as Percy made a show of making eye contact with every demigod in the room. His eyes stared into Piper's, and she immediately recognised his "I've got this" face. He was asking her to trust him, and to be honest, he didn't really need to ask. She would follow him to the end of the Earth if he thought it was the right thing to do.

Piper followed Percy's eyes as he shared the same look with the rest of their friends, Selene busying herself with one of the wind spirits who had come up to her.

Finally, Percy seemed to convince everyone to remain quiet and let him take this one. "You're right," he said. The goddess looked up in surprise and Piper was almost sure she was going to burst with happiness. "You're completely right."

Selene snapped her fingers and the wind spirits holding him disappeared in an instant.

Percy took a step forward, his shoulders back and his arms by his side. "We could be together forever," he was right up close to her by now, only about half a foot away from her. "You'd be my beautiful wife,"

He smirked the smirk that Piper's half-sisters just never shut up about. The corner of his mouth was turned up and his perfect teeth were barely visible from behind the curve of his soft, pink lips. Gently, Percy placed one hand on Selene's waist and the other on her cheek. The goddess seemed lost for words as he bit his bottom lip slowly in a way that made Piper's heart hurt.

It seemed as if Selene couldn't handle it anymore because she grabbed him by the small of his back and pulled him towards her, pressing her petite body against his. Nobody could take their eyes off the scene. She didn't know what he was doing or where in the world this was going, but Piper knew that she could trust him on this. Percy shared one last look with Annabeth, a look that Piper would have missed if she wasn't staring so avidly at him, and the blonde relaxed a little bit more.

Percy leaned in and began kissing Selene's neck, making her gasp in anticipated pleasure.

"Our palace," Percy whispered between kisses in a deep, husky tone, letting his voice drop an octave. "Just the two of us."

Selene sighed as Percy caressed her waist, his thumbs rubbing circles into her bare skin. The goddess tugged on his hair, causing Percy let out a little groan that made Piper's heart skip a beat and her breath to get caught in her throat. She could have sworn she saw Selene's knees wobble.

Just as Selene ran her hand through his messy, messy hair, Percy swiftly dragged his lips upwards and began kissing her jawline. The goddess gasped and let her other hand slip under his shirt, tracing over his love handles and toned abs whilst she hitched it up. Piper caught a brief look at his tanned, stomach and prominent V line before the shirt fell once again.

Percy let his forearm slide onto Selene's hips, extending his hand so that they looked as if they were gripping a weapon. Piper watched in amazement as the water particles in the air formed a tall, solid trident just behind Selene. As Percy placed one last kiss onto the corner of Selene's mouth (causing her to lose all self-control and smash her lips to his), he plunged the three-tipped weapon into her back, making her let out a cry of unanticipated pain into his mouth.

Once the wind spirits caught sight of their lady's plan failing, the spirits that lined the walls surged forward in attempt to attack Percy. However, he summoned a wave of water to sweep through them, forcing them out the door. Water was their enemy, as spirits of the sky. The domain they avoided most.

Twirling the ichor-covered trident in his hands, Percy coughed. "Well, that was awkward,"

Piper noticed Hazel fanning her face in an old-fashioned manner, with Frank's large cheeks holding a very light shade of red. It must have been very awkward for him to see his best friend, big brother and role model in such a light, she thought. Piper, on the other hand, didn't really mind the show.

"I swear to gods, Percy, if you ever do that again I will personally slap you into Hades!" Annabeth had strolled up to Percy and punched his arm, though she had this sort of dazed look in her eyes, as if she was in awe of him. Piper nodded; she felt exactly the same way.

Percy just rolled his gorgeous eyes, let the trident dissolve back into the air before leaning in to whisper in her ear.

"Nah, she could never compare to you, Wise Girl." he whispered quietly before he gave Annabeth a slow, soft kiss making Piper's Aphrodite heart sing.

She felt someone stand next to her and before even glancing at who it was, she knew it was Jason. He grabbed her hand with his rough, calloused one and gave her a slight smile. Sure, she loved Jason. More than he would ever know, however as she looked at Percy with his trademark trouble-maker smile, soft black hair and stunning ocean eyes, she sighed to herself.

A girl can dream.

(Many months later, after Gaea had been defeated, the Aphrodite cabin held their annual "most beautiful camper of the year" poll. Piper, who had not taken part in it the previous year, was about to slot her vote for Jason on a piece of paper into the box. However, as she looked out the window and saw a shirtless Percy Jackson, she paused. He was fake-sparring (well, fake on his behalf) with a new, young son of Hermes and letting the boy win. She watched as Percy let the boy knock Riptide out of his hand and stand over him, his much-too-big-for-him sword pointed at his chest. Percy held his hands up in defeat, smiling at the young boy and congratulating him. Piper, making sure no one in her cabin was watching her, made a spur of the moment decision and crossed Jason's name out, scribbling Percy's down instead.

And, when the results came out a week later, she pretended to be surprised when the son of Poseidon won for the supposed third year in a row.

"Don't worry, Pipes," one of her sisters reassured her. "Jason was in second place."

Piper just smiled at her and continued to eat her dinner, not so subtly staring right at Percy Jackson. He was a 6'3, strong, handsome man who had defeated countless gods and Titans, yet right now was making a little daughter of Demeter laugh by contorting his proud features into funny faces from the Poseidon table across the Dining Pavillion. Yeah, he was definitely the most beautiful camper, Piper decided. In much more than just the artificial sense of the word.)

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

My second one shot on this site, I hope you enjoyed it! Percy is honestly 100% my favorite character of all time. He's so pure and good and just beautiful, I could talk about him all day. Anyway, I really wanted a little Piper-appreciating-Percy fanfic, so here you go! I'd really love to see more of their friendship so I'm currently on the hunt to find some more of those fics out there lol

I got a load of feels writing this I'm not going to lie to you hahaha

Let me know if you have any thoughts on new ideas for one-shots that I could write. Thank you so much for reading!