Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Percy Jackson.
Okay, so, I know what you're thinking. My gods, another story?
Well, yes. I love writing and, let's face it, this is a step toward humor for me. My other two stories are quite depressing and angsty. This is meant to be fun and a bit more humorous. Well, a lot more humorous. Anyways!
Warning: may be a bit Out of Character.
This, I guess, takes place after the whole Gaea thing in the ongoing series, sooo... yeah. It takes place a good few months afterward. Review, please! I love getting ideas and if you have an idea for a chapter, let me know and I'll give you credit in the Author's Note if you thought of the chapter! These are all Guys Night Out chapters, so usually, Annabeth, Thalia, Hazel, Piper, they won't be in it unless it's short. Sorry. They can definitely be mentioned though.
No flames, please leave ideas! Thanks!
Contains: Percabeth, Hazel/Frank, Piper/Jason, (possible) Thalia/Leo, Nico/? (I don't have anyone for him)
"This..." Leo began as he took a big breath of the outside air. "Was a great idea."
Percy couldn't help but grin. The outside air whistled softly against the trees and rustled the fallen leaves that rested motionless on the forest floor. The moon peeked between the high risen clouds, letting its soft white rays flutter down from the skies. But it wasn't the moon that lit up the forest; it was the small crackling campfire that was tamed by the pyrokinetic Leo Valdez.
His facial features were lightly illuminated by the orangish glow of the fire. He couldn't help but smile as he relaxed backward, letting himself get swallowed up by the serenity of the local scene.
"Yeah, Perce. Good call," Jason observed, nodding in his approval. Nico and Frank murmured their approval as well, each stuffing their faces with the marshmallows they'd snunk into the camp. Usually, outside food was prohibited, but thanks to the Stoll Brothers, smuggling food was a problem of the past.
"Thanks," Percy said with a wide grin. He took a swig of the soda that was gripped in his hand, ignoring the condensation that dampened his hand. "I'm glad Chiron thought it was good, too. Otherwise we may not have been allowed in the forest."
The chat between Percy and Chiron had been short- the centaur being quite adamant in Percy's request. It was a small question to have a Guy's Night- especially since they'd all survived the Gaea encounter with no deaths between their small group. The girls were all back at camp, blissfully unaware of the ongoing Guys Night.
"So, what do we do now?" Nico asked, swallowing his gooey marshmallow. The stick smoked a bit, the stench of fire wafting about the small group of guys.
Although they didn't have any bright ideas, Percy had a grin grow on his face once more.
Turning to Leo, he spoke. "So... what's this about you and Thalia, I hear?"
The effect was instantaneous.
Jason spit his soda all over the ground in front of him and a chorus of laughter rung from the other guys. The flames reacted with Leo's emotions and flared up with a few 'nervous' crackles.
"Wh-what are you talking about man? I have... no idea what you mean," Leo said, shielding his face. Jason rolled his eyes as his best friend's reaction, almost chuckling at the red blush that spanned across his face. Almost.
Leo, embarrassed, peered around the camp, keeping his eyes shielded. Frank laughed the loudest amongst the group and thus, drew Leo's ire.
"What about you, Frank?" Leo sputtered, turning the tables immediately as the window opened.
Frank stopped laughing and everyone turned to the son of Mars attentively. He raised his eyebrow.
"Thalia? Not my type," Frank said, causing Leo to scowl. The guys broke into laughter again.
"That's not what I meant!" Leo exclaimed. "I meant, you and Hazel?"
Percy made a wolf-whistle that drew him a punch from Nico. "Dude, my sister!"
"Yeah, so? Thalia's my sister," Jason said in between chuckles. It was true, although, they came from slightly different roots. Thalia was Greek whilst Jason was Roman. The only reason they'd met up was because of Juno/Hera's intervention. Right now, they were all visiting Camp-Half Blood due to the training and lack of monster activity.
Nico scowled. "You can't just talk about her dating Frank!"
"Can't we?" Percy asked grinning.
"Well, we are kind of... dating," Frank said with his face rivaling a tomato. The entire camp went up in 'ooohs' and whistles, further exposing Frank's embarrassment.
Percy, however, froze after he cheered, something dawning on him.
"Frank, mind if I ask you something?" Percy asked rather soberly. Frank just nodded, unable to speak.
Before Percy could ask, Nico decided to get back at his cousin. "How did you get your girl so fast? It took Percy like, 4 years to get Annabeth!"
Percy landed a swift punch into Nico's shoulder, not stunting the son of Hades laughter. The entire group was roaring in laughter at the situation. Percy snorted and resorted to basically pouting.
"Shut up, it was complicated," Percy said in a low voice. "Anyways!"
The laughter died down, Jason and Leo eagerly watching Percy. His grin had once again popped up, and they both recognized a shimmer of mischief in his eyes. Leo had long since learnt of Percy's joking side and how it could almost rival that of the Stolls.
"You're technically related to me, right?"
Frank contemplated the question, sticking a marshmallow onto his stick. After a moment, he answered.
"Yeah; I'm technically related to you. Like a cousin or something. Actually, it's like a uncle, twice removed, but it's easier to say half-brother," Frank said. His face turned into confusion as he didn't realize what Percy had asked for. "Why?"
Instead of answering, Percy asked another related question. "So, like, Nico is my cousin. That makes him yours too, right?"
"Yeah...?" Frank answered slowly.
The shimmer in Percy's eye sparkled dangerously bright, causing Leo to grin despite the situation being rather lacking in humor. He caught on immediately and saw exactly what Percy was going for. Just as Leo realized it, Jason caught on and Nico's eyes grew wide.
Before anyone could yell anything out, Percy shouted the point of his questions. "So you're dating your cousin?!"
The effect was instantaneous.
"DUDE!"
"WHAT THE HADES!?"
"FRANK, MAN, THAT'S SO GNARLY!"
The shouts from Leo, Jason and Nico respectively all rang out simultaneously, shocking Frank. He hadn't gotten Percy's rather subtle hints... up until the last possible moment.
Frank, unfortunately for him, had no answer for the question posed. He only could sit in absolute shock at the question and shield his blush from the guys that sat around the fire, each portraying their own emotion to the situation. Leo was laughing outrageously, loving how quickly the topics had been changed. The situation was just... well, he, Leo Valdez, had seen some weird things in his days.
This, though, took the cake.
Jason was just shocked but laughing as well. It was more of a chuckle in disbelief as he stared at Frank with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. He laughed slightly while just shaking his head. He could never imaging dating a cousin of his; it was just... wrong. To him, anyways.
Nico, on the other hand, was just staring in horror at the sudden change in occurrence. He was hunched over, retching for added effect. Just a minute ago, he'd learned his sister was dating baby-faced Frank Zheng.
Just a second ago, he'd learned his sister was dating her technical 'cousin'.
"How wrong is that?!" Nico said loudly. He couldn't manage to find the words he wanted to express, so he just shouted whatever floated around in his shell-shocked mind.
Frank sighed. "Percy, you may be a terrifying fighter. You may be the strongest demigod here, no offense Jason," Frank said, to which Jason raised his hands in defeat. He knew they were close in strengths. "But seriously?! Why would you even bring something like that up?!"
Percy shrugged. "I dunno, it just crossed my mind."
"What kind of person thinks stuff like that?" Nico asked, giving him a sideways glance. He was still stunned about the sudden development, but he had enough of him to do his own minor interrogation toward the son of Poseidon.
"I do; that's why I asked," Percy said plainly. Leo and Jason sniggered at this new exchanged.
"If only we had some popcorn," Leo whispered to which Jason merely nodded.
Nico just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is just... awkward now. Thank you, Percy."
"You're welcome Nico. And to answer you, Frank, I ask 'cause it's just one of those things that was bound to come up sooner or later."
Frank gaped at him. "I never thought of that and I doubt anyone would have."
"But still!" Nico said, shaking his head once again. He cradled his head in his hands as he sighed aloud.
"We have... very messed up families," Frank said, to which everyone silenced at. After a moment (and a crack of thunder), the teens rose their drinks.
"Agreed," they chorused and tapped the brim of their sodas together and drank all at once.
The forest went silent once more, with only the sound of the crackling fire disrupting the blanket of silence.
"So, Jason," Percy began.
"Oh gods..."
So how was that? Not too funny, I admit...
But it certainly could have made you think. I remember reading the story and seeing the blood-line relation and stuff and then it occurred to me... 'hey, isn't that like dating a cousin?'
Anyways, feel free to leave ideas. They don't need to have everyone and they can be brotherly moments or something, but the point of this story is to really get the relations between the guys going. Thanks for reading this chapter!
-RiotRunner