Author's Note: Just a fun, slightly AU one-shot inspired by Tumblr over the years, co-written by Addison Blair. The main plot is inspired by the person behind this url: percyjacksonsbluefood. Other mentions from: sadgaywerewolf and pjomuffins. Enjoy!
Scars Are Just Tattoos with Better Stories
Halloween had come to Camp Half-Blood.
Ask Percy Jackson what his favorite holiday is and he wouldn't miss a beat telling you it was Halloween. He found great pleasure in the fact that Piper was just as enthusiastic when it came to mischievous stunts. Practical jokes and tricks were the very thing they lived for this time of year. The green-eyed demigod waited outside the Aphrodite cabin until he was joined by Piper.
"You think he can do it?" Piper's fishtail braid bobbed as she sprinted to keep up with Percy's stride.
"Gods, I hope. The look on Will's face will be priceless." Percy grinned.
The two had been conspiring for a while, and playing matchmaker was technically in Piper's resume. If their plan worked, Will and Nico would be a couple before the end of Halloween.
A short walk later, and they reached the black obsidian cabin of Hades. The green fire of the torches burned eerily on either side of the skull that hung over the door way.
Piper wrinkled her nose. "Oh, no way am I touching that door. You knock."
Rolling his eyes, Percy did so, and a moment later Nico answered the door looking very disheveled in his pajamas despite it being well after noon. There was a slightly nervous glint in his eyes as they flitted between his two friends before him.
"Nico!" the girl exclaimed. "So what is the possibility of getting us, oh, roughly 200 skeletons, at least one of which is a dinosaur?" Her words were emphasized with her charmspeak.
Immediately, Nico's anxiousness dissipated. The younger boy's jaw went slightly slack and he started blankly at Percy.
"Like on a scale of 1 to 10?" Percy said in an excited, pleading tone.
At that moment, a blonde head peeked around Nico, blue eyes squinting blearily. "Do we have visitors?" Will Solace rubbed his eyes and came into view, wearing nothing but a pair of dark grey sweats that looked much too small for him. Nico's pale hand rubbed the back of his neck, staring down at his toes.
"Oh my gods," Piper whistled under her breath. Her and the tall boy beside her shared a knowing look.
Not missing the opportunity, Percy jumped. "So you have a thing for blondes?"
"PER –" the son of Hades began, but Will interrupted.
"I'm actually not blonde." He said this as though his torso wasn't bare for the world to see and that he wasn't inside the Hades cabin with an equally bedraggled boy.
Nico turned and asked, "You dye it?"
"Disappointed, but not surprised." Percy shrugged at Piper.
"No, my hair was brown." He tilted his head so the other three could see the locks under the rest of his beach-blonde hair. "I guess it got sun damaged," the boy reasoned.
Percy chuckled."What happened, Apollo sun kissed your head?"
"Something like that. When I got claimed, it did the Tangled thing." Will and Piper laughed, but Percy was roaring, holding his stomach.
Nico narrowed his eyes at Percy. "You're still blonde, Will," he said cynically.
"Shut up," Will retorted playfully.
Percy was gasping for air when he sang, "Flower gleam and glow!"
The heavy obsidian door slammed in the son of Poseidon's face and he continued to laugh hard enough that a tear escaped.
Piper's kaleidoscope eyes danced as she processed Will in the Hades cabin. With Nico. Alone. She shoved Percy hard enough that he fell to the ground.
"Dude," she hissed. "Do you know what this means?"
"YES," the demigod cackled. "We aren't going to need those bones anymore. They already have two!"
The girl groaned as Percy's fit continued. Her palm found her face as she walked away from the cabin and back to her own.
Even though Percy had to crawl most of the way to the Athena cabin, Percy managed to tidy himself up and put his poker face on before stepping up to the door. He rapped his knuckles against the grey door. Annabeth must've seen her boyfriend approaching, since she answered the door right away.
Normally Percy had to knock for several minutes before a studying camper would break their reading to answer the door.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Annabeth said smugly, her fingers tugging at her blonde curls.
"Knock, knock."
Dear, gods. "Who's there?"
"Who." Percy suppressed a smile.
Annabeth's dark brows furrowed. "Who, who?"
"Your mom! That's who!"
Annabeth's grey eyes were devoid of emotion. Then she swiftly punched him in the gut. "Percy, you literal piece of crap."
More uncontrollable cackling from Percy. "On a more serious note, you're never gonna guess who I found in Nico's cabin."
The girl's eyes flashed silver and widened. "No freaking way."
"Yes!"
"Will?!"
"Yes!"
"Well, damn. I just made about..." The daughter of Athena pursed her lips and calculated. "$85."
Percy scoffed. "You made a bet about Nico and Will?"
"Duh," she said, popping her hip out. "It was logical."
Percy drunk in her curves and the twists in her hair that glittered in the evening sun. Her pink button-up blouse could probably use to be buttoned up one more time. A silver owl pendant rose up and down on her chest. Whether that was in time with her breathing or her heart beat, Percy didn't know. He hadn't noticed but a smirk had spread on his lips. Annabeth straightened her posture. "Wh-why are you looking at me like that."
Percy ran a hand through his hair. "You're gorgeous."
Despite having a well-established relationship, the blonde girl still blushed when her boyfriend said any phrases of affection out loud. "Thanks, Seaweed Brain. I gotta change for the bonfire, so I'll meet you out here in five."
Percy crossed his arms and arched his brow.
"Seriously. Five minutes."
When Camp Half-Blood has a bonfire... Well. That's an understatement.
This wasn't some tiny, controlled, outdoor campfire. Oh no. This was massive, untamed blaze with dozens of demigods dancing and shouting and trying to convince Dionysus to turn their drinks into something a little stronger. Sometimes they'd get visits from Olympians wanting to join in the festivities.
Percy and Annabeth had donned hoodies, jeans, and converse and now sat with their friends a little farther away from the party. They were still close enough to the fire to keep warm in the autumn weather. Jason and Piper had been arguing with Leo over something trivial while Frank and Hazel leaned against each other pointing out constellations when a certain couple walked up to their group.
Will gestured animatedly with his hands as if he was explaining how to build something, and though Nico pretended to be listening, Percy could tell by the pink that colored his cheeks that he wasn't as focused as he appeared. He nudged Annabeth as the demigods neared.
"Boy, there sure is something... fishy going on, isn't there?" Percy said flippantly, making eyes at his friends.
Annabeth cracked a smile. "It'd probably be... wise to avoid any trouble."
Nico had clearly overheard their not-so-discreet puns. "No, stop this right now."
"My, what a... shocking development," Jason noted as he observed the proximity of the son of Apollo and the son of Hades.
Leo, being not quite as subtle, ran up behind Nico and Will and shoved their shoulders together. "Oh, things sure are heating up alright!"
Nico pleadingly looked between his sister and her boyfriend. "Zhang, make them stop, please."
Leo pouted a little. Frank normally didn't carry on with their jokes.
"Alright guys, you heard Nico," the Canadian said with an admonishing tone. "Just let me be... Frank... with you."
The seven demigods erupted with laughter, including Will who seemed to be enjoying the puns.
"You're all idiots."
"I don't know," shrugged Piper. "I find them quite..."
"Don't you dare!"
"...Charming."
Percy and Jason had lost it. Through gasps for air, Hazel joined in. "I'll say! These puns are pure... gold!"
Nico turned to Will to apologize for their behavior. Will put his hand on Nico's back and smiled down at him. "C'mon, Nico. You need to..."
Nico's face paled. If that was even possible. "NO. Not you, too."
"Lighten up!"
At this Leo grabbed Will's hand and hoisted it into the air as if he had just won a wrestling match. Leo, Jason, and Percy all held onto Will as Frank lifted him up on his shoulders. The four demigods ran circles around their lawn chairs whooping and hollering.
Nico shouted, "You're all dead to me!"
His quip wasn't wasted, and the girls all applauded and laughed.
Hazel was the one to ask what they were all dying to know. "So are you and Will official now?"
Nico stammered, "Y-yeah. We are." This elicited several aww's from the girls. "I better go get my boy back before they end up in the fire or something." He lightly jogged in the direction the demigods had disappeared shouting Will's name.
When the black haired boy finally found them Percy was having a stand-off with a large armored, buff man while several demigods watched.
"What the Hades is going on?" Nico whispered to his boyfriend when he found him in the small crowd.
"Hercules decided to visit to try some of Dionysus' famous brews, and now he's drunk. He challenged Percy."
"Well, shit."
Hercules puffed up his chest. His gold armor shined brightly, reflecting the flames. "Yeah, I'm a demigod, child of the Big Three." His voice was low and suave.
"Oh, yeah? Me, too," Percy replied.
Hercules arched a brow. "Well, when I was just a baby, I strangled two snakes with my bare hands."
Percy waved his hand. "Ah, I know what you mean. My mom freaked when I did that."
Hercules still bled confidence. "I fought the Nemean Lion." Some of the crowd oooh'ed.
"No way! Same! I was, what, fourteen?"
The god rested his sandalled foot on a tree log. His eyes bore into Percy. "I've fought a hydra." Hercules lifted his goblet and took a long drink.
"Same, dude. Although, I wouldn't have been able to kill it without Clarisse, but still."
"Oh, well... ah..." He fumbled a bit. "I fought this massive boar once."
"I think I fought it's girlfriend!" Percy exclaimed. "It was a couple of days before I fought Kronos."
The god was visibly sweating now. "This one time, I had to clean this stable that hadn't been cleaned for thousands of years."
"Riiight," Percy drawled. "I heard a nymph helped you with that? I used my own powers." It was the son of Poseidon's turn to raise his eye brow. Hercules nervously gulped. "I could go all day, Herc."
Flustered, he shouted, "I fought AMAZONS – "
"Been there."
"The Minotaur – "
"Done that. I was twelve."
"I... uh... I've been to the Underworld and back!"
Percy groaned and the god thought he had him beat. "Man, I am sooo sick of that place. I've had to go there, like, four times."
"Uhhh.. I..." Hercules was breathing heavily now.
"Well, we done here?" Percy stuck out his hand to shake.
A triumphant grin bloomed on the god's face. "I WAS OFFERED IMMORTALITY."
"Yeah," Percy dug his converse into the ground a little. "I turned mine down because I liked this girl..."
Hercules tossed his goblet over his shoulder in defeat and the small gathering cheered. Hercules shook Percy's extended hand and the god wiped his brow. "I'm gonna go jump in the River Styx."
Never able to resist, Percy smirked. "Careful. It burns."
Percy had never been inside a Victoria's Secret, but he reckoned the Aphrodite cabin interior was a close second. The girl's side anyway. It reeked of perfume and the walls were pepto bismol pink. A horror for the eyes. Piper headed for a chest at the foot of a pastel green bed. In curly white script, the trunk was labeled, Drew.
"Instead of makeup, Drew has to use face paint to make herself look decent," Piper joked. "At least that's what half this crap looks like." Piper herself was very minimalistic, so she had little experience in the beauty scene.
Leo fist pumped the air. "Dude, we are gonna look sick." He grinned crookedly. It had been his plan to scare the other campers, in keeping with the Halloween spirit. Leo never really got to experience Halloween before because of his hispanic heritage, so he enjoyed the idea of an entire day dedicated to dressing up for treats… and tricks.
"What's the plan exactly?" Percy asked with some slight hesitation.
"Nothing major," Leo shrugged. "Just paint our faces to resemble various monsters and go around sneaking up on people." He said it as if it were no big deal, but the other campers saw the glint in his eye that suggested otherwise.
"Nico can summon a few skeletons for us, too." Will clapped Nico on the back.
"Alright, so who actually knows how to do makeup?" Jason asked, looking between Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel.
"Hey! " Nico said. "I'm offended that you're not associating me with the typical gay male stereotype."
Frank scoffed. "Well? Do you?"
"Uh, no," Nico replied sheepishly. They all rolled their eyes.
When Jason's eyes darted back between the three girls, they threw their hands up in defense. He eyed Percy who was awkwardly shuffling, staring at the floor.
"Bro, you okay?"
Percy peeked up through his lashes. "I may or may not be able to help."
Percy walked over to the pile of makeup brushes and palettes on the bed and fought back some unhappy memories of his childhood. Not wanting to ruin the others fun, he quickly picked up some items and said, "Sweet. I've got a few different concealers and foundations to work with… Some dipbrow… Oh, this Morphe palette will work nicely… Who's first?"
Before Percy stood a very convincing zombie, werewolf, vampire, gorgon, devil, mummy, Frankenstein, and witch. Leo was examining the fiery red makeup on his face and his dramatic arched brows in the mirror.
"Looks like Percy has unleashed his inner fashionista!" Leo gave him a wink and two thumbs up which he then lit on fire for effect.
Percy chuckled lightly. "Nah. When I was younger I got pretty good at concealing marks on my skin with my mom's makeup."
Immediately the mood shifted in the room and the eight demigods before him all stopped admiring his work in the many mirrors surrounding them. They all had heard stories about Gabe Ugliano, but it was a part of Percy's past that he never fully elaborated on.
"This one time I got knocked into our coffee table, and when it busted, the glass got the whole right side of my face, even my eyebrow. That one was a bitch…" Percy had trailed off and was swinging his feet. Percy's friends had all noticed scars on the demigod's arms and legs, even his face. But now they wondered how many were from his battles and how many he'd gotten before he stepped foot inside Camp Half-Blood.
Annabeth softly squeezed his knee. "He's long gone," the blonde assured him, moving the cloth around her mouth that was part of her mummy costume.
"Yeah, I know," Percy muttered, running his hand through his hair almost absent-mindedly.
Jason sat down beside Percy on the pastel green bed that matched his Frankenstein makeup. "See this, on my lip?" A tiny white line marked his upper lip, still visible under the light green powder. "I got this when I was two-years-old, trying to eat a stapler." Percy grinned wide at this.
"I got this back in Vancouver," Frank offered, jerking his jeans up past his left knee. A sizeable gash made his knee resemble ground chuck. "My mom was chasing me because I had run off with the watermelon she had bought from the grocery store. I was, like, six." He chuckled before finishing. "It slipped out of my hands and I tripped over it. Landed myself in our gravel driveway. I thought the watermelon guts was part of my leg. It left emotional scars, too."
After laughing for a few moments, Will jerked up his tank top, revealing a dark crater-like hole in his side. "I got my ass kicked in paintball."
Hazel showed a round ring around her wrist; the pale pink of the scar deeply contrasted her dark skin. "I think I got this in the 1930's, but I'm not sure what happened." Frank frowned at this.
Annabeth tugged at a stormy grey lock of her hair. She normally kept it hidden as best she could in her ponytail or braid. "I think you remember where this came from," she smiled, brushing her fingers against Percy's matching grey streak. Green eyes bore into grey ones as he flashed back to their battle with Atlas and holding up the sky.
Percy pulled Annabeth's head to his lips and he gingerly kissed her grey hair, letting it tickle his nose.
He looked at everyone who surrounded him. Will and Nico, their fingers entangled. Hazel, Frank, and Leo sitting in a tight pod looking up at Percy. Jason and Piper sitting on a pastel blue bed across the floor. Annabeth, cradled in his arms. Despite the semi-scary makeup, Percy could see straight through to his friends. People who had his back, whether it was fighting battles, or if it was fighting old demons.
This was his family.
"You know," Percy spoke softly. "Scars are just tattoos with better stories."
"Damn straight," Leo said smiling. "Now let's go and scare the ever-living-crap out of some demigods."
Thank you for reading Addison and I's story! Hope you liked the Percabeth and Solangelo moments. Reviews are appreciated!
Until next time...
-A.M. Williams