Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns everything
Note: I will not tolerate homophobic comments of any kind.
Also, keep in mind I'm messing with the timeline and plot and the relationships a lot so if anyone's curious with the chronological order, it's slightly confusing.
Stake your claim:
Annabeth knew that she wasn't being fair to Clarisse. It wasn't like Clarisse had been asking her to stay away from Piper, just that she not flirt with her or anything like that. Annabeth didn't flirt; in the past when she had been in her previous relationship, with Percy, it had been the son of Poseidon that had strayed and eventually ended up the lover of Nico di Angelo. It was just that people didn't believe that it happened that way.
However, Annabeth, admittedly being aware that Clarisse could get jealous every now and then whenever she seemed to be too chummy with Piper, got fairly agitated as a result. She however, had unfortunately given Clarisse a very good reason for being suspicious.
It would have been one thing if Clarisse was jealous and suspicious all the time and if she had been such before Annabeth's big "fuck up," because that would have been pushing it too far, and the daughter of Athena knew that, but Clarisse hadn't been that way before Annabeth cheated. Annabeth, of her own free will had had sex with both Thalia and Piper. Thalia wasn't such a problem as she was no longer at the camp and was off with Artemis and her hunters, but Piper was another story. Piper, when it came to physical proximity, was a little closer than either Clarisse or Annabeth would have liked. Piper, like Annabeth, was one of the fabled "Seven." The two of them, along with Frank, Leo, Percy, Jason and Hazel and so had to be near each other. They were too much of an effective team to not be with each other. Clarisse, Reyna, Arianna; the daughter of Demeter that Jason was in a relationship with, Calypso, Rachel and Nico were just part of the package on the Argo II.
Given Piper's close proximity, that was a problem. And it wasn't like Clarisse was suspicious of any other woman Annabeth had contact with. Annabeth by no means thought that Clarisse was one of those types of girlfriends. Hazel, Reyna, Rachel, Hylla, Arianna, Silena, all the other girls and young women in both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were fine by Clarisse whenever Annabeth was near them. The daughter of Ares was not threatened. It was Piper and Thalia that Annabeth had slept with-they were the ones the brunette warrior felt threatened by. But since Thalia was usually not nearby, the daughter of Zeus usually was not a conflict, but Piper almost always was.
Annabeth was fully aware that Piper was a subject of tense anger for Clarisse. Annabeth didn't know why Clarisse was so worried about Piper though. She used to date Percy Jackson and she knew that there were never times when Clarisse was afraid that she would go back to the son of Poseidon. So why was Clarisse so worried that she'd go and sleep with the daughter of Aphrodite again? She wasn't going to do it again of course. Annabeth had no desire to be with anyone else except for Clarisse.
Thinking about it now, she really had to laugh. By the time Annabeth and Percy had reached their fifteenth birthday, even before Annabeth had understood Percy had feelings for Nico, she had the insight to realize that she just couldn't love Percy. Not like that. And she certainly didn't love either Thalia or Piper like that.
It was strange, to be honest, seeing Clarisse in her insecure moments. It was true; while Clarisse was half god, she was also half human. Even Clarisse, in all her arrogance and strong-headedness, still had her emotional vulnerabilities. Annabeth wanted to tell Clarisse that these worries were groundless; that she loved Clarisse and only loved Clarisse. But both demigods would know that that was untrue. Clarisse's fears were not groundless. Annabeth had planted those insecurities in the other demigod's mind when she had bedded the daughter of Zeus and the daughter of Aphrodite.
Annabeth suspected in her chagrin that Aphrodite was giggling up in Olympus at her and Clarisse's occasional "lover's quarrel." Aphrodite had actually confronted her once, praising her and Clarisse's relationship, even saying such irritating things like comparing the two of them to Antony and Cleopatra.
There were serious times when Annabeth just wanted to kick Aphrodite's ass the curb for such ridiculous statements.
But Clarisse was no Antony. Annabeth knew that. She was far better. Annabeth however was distracted when she saw Piper approaching from the Aphrodite cabin. The Argo II had landed and was stationary for a while at the border of the camp. The Seven and their significant others were scattered about the camp. Frank and Hazel from what Annabeth heard were sleeping in their shared cabin on the Argo II itself, Leo was showing Calypso around the camp (the poor woman was just delighted to be anywhere else except the island that she had been trapped on for so long), Percy and Nico said they were going to the lakes to swim, Jason was eating lunch with his girlfriend Arianna (there was some surprise though a great deal of support when they all found out about their relationship and Arianna was a good friend to the rest of them), and Clarisse as far as Annabeth knew, went to spar with her brothers. She didn't know where Piper was till she heard the daughter of Aphrodite's voice call out to her.
"Hey, Annabeth!" Piper's yell reached Annabeth's ears, making the blonde jump from where she was sitting, focusing on the blueprints on her laptop. Thankfully it was modified specifically not to attract monsters. Any other piece of technology in a demigod's hands no less would be like shouting, "Hey! I'm a demigod and I'm right here! Come and eat me!" She turned in the direction of the voice. She spotted the dark haired demigod who was greeting her, waving.
"Piper." She said, nodding to her, smiling in return.
The child of the goddess of love came over, looking urgent about something. This caught Annabeth's attention. She slowly closed the laptop and placed it onto the wooden table next to where she was sitting. She told herself to be wary, but hoped that she could give Piper the benefit of the doubt. She had been careful not to be alone with the other demigod. Whenever she saw Piper, she made an effort to be out of sight until someone else came into the vicinity. She knew that that kind of behavior was uncalled for though. So far, Piper had never brought up that night between the two of them and Thalia, never. Piper never talked about Thalia, she never gave Annabeth suggestive looks, nothing ever came up like that. Still, Annabeth felt like she should be hiding right about now.
"Annabeth, hey." Piper said, now meandering over till she was right in front of the blonde. The young Cherokee woman smiled down at the other. She spoke again, "Hey, it's been a long time, hasn't it?" Annabeth narrowed her eyes, hoping she looked surprised enough. "What are you talking about?" She queried, even though she had a pretty good idea of what the child of Aphrodite was saying. Piper's smirk confirmed that for her.
"Oh, you know," Piper chuckled, smiling fondly, "We used to hang out so much before. We had so much fun. Now you avoid me every chance you get and unless there's at least two or more people in the room with us, you don't talk much to me anymore. I won't talk about….you know, that. I know you would hate if anyone found out and I would never talk about it. Especially not in front of Clarisse. Can't…..can't we just be friends again? I swear, I won't try to make it anything else. I won't make a move on you or anything."
Annabeth winced. She had been unfair to people a lot lately. With Clarisse, even though the daughter of Ares had good reasons, she was getting frustrated with the other demigod and yes, she had been avoiding Piper.
"I'm sorry," She finally submitted, hand moving away from where she put her laptop on the table, "I never wanted to make you feel like I didn't care anymore. I still see you as a friend. But after what happened…you understand, right? It's just really, really awkward."
Piper's smile turned somber. "I said I won't bring it up," Piper repeated, "I won't if you won't. I know how much you love Clarisse. I love you, but if you're happy with her-" Piper stopped talking when she saw Annabeth freeze at the words, 'I love you.' Piper was now grimacing. "I…..I won't say anything." The demigod repeated at last.
Annabeth exhaled, "See? That's why this is awkward. Even if we hadn't…..done anything, I figured out about your feelings a while before that. Don't you remember? It was already complicated after I found out. And besides, I shouldn't have used you and Thalia that night. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."
Piper was startled by the apology and a look of hurt flashed across her ever-changing eyes. "You're sorry?" She echoed, feeling like someone had punched her in the gut, "I'm not." Annabeth stiffened, staring up at Piper. Was this it? Was this the breaking point? Was this where they were going to break their little rule of no talking about the "particular incident" and all Tartarus would break loose?
Answering Annabeth's questioning look, Piper continued, "I know you and Clarisse are together. I know what happened that night was just a one-time thing, no strings attached, but I'm not sorry that you came to me and Thalia. Well, not to me anyway. I got to have you, if only for one night. I know you'll never love me, but I'll treasure what I can get from you, and let's face it, you let me have a lot that night." Piper's face changed at Annabeth's infuriated glare, to a sheepish look, "My only regret is that I had to share you that night with Thalia."
Annabeth clenched her teeth together. She wanted to lash out, to scream, to curse the daughter of Aphrodite out, but she couldn't. She knew that she would be a complete hypocrite for doing something like that. She had given up a lot to Piper and to Thalia that night. She had let them have their way with her, in so many different positions. They had taken her; brought her to orgasm, and more than once, and worse, she had enjoyed every single moment of it.
"Look," Annabeth voiced, aggravation evident, "I get it. You enjoyed what I gave you, but I'm in love with Clarisse."
"I know, I know," Piper grumbled, shaking her head, "That's what I was saying, "You gave me all the physical beauties of a relationship we could have had, but your heart didn't come with it, so I'm not going to even try to win you over. So Clarisse and you have nothing to worry about. I don't want you if you can't give me your heart and soul as well as your body. But I'll take what I can get."
Annabeth stared at the other demigod, absorbing this declaration. This was a lot to process, even for a child of Athena, and gods, did Athena's doctrine include how to deal with romance? No, it did not, so Annabeth was pretty sure she could be justified in being inarticulate.
There was the sound of metal scraping against solid rock, making both demigods jump and turn. Clarisse was walking in their direction, dragging her spear along and her head was towards the shield in her other hand, inspecting what looked to be a fairly serious crack in its round wooden structure. Piper and Annabeth looked at each other, worried before turning back towards the approaching warrior.
"Piper," Annabeth started quietly, feeling a terrible sense of foreboding, "I think maybe we should talk later."
Before Piper could respond, Clarisse turned her head just at that very moment (of course) and spotted both her girlfriend and the daughter of Aphrodite. The child of Ares's eyes narrowed and Annabeth could easily hear Piper gulp.
"McLean." Clarisse spoke, her voice as black as Tartarus.
"Clarisse." Annabeth said in a gentle voice, "now calm down. I know this is going to sound completely and horrifyingly clichéd, but this is not what it looks like. We were just talking. I swear it, Clarisse."
There was a loud snort from the muscle bound brunette, "Yeah, sure. And what were you and McLean talking about? Reminiscing? Remembering good it felt to have her between your legs?" Clarisse ended her vulgar question with her teeth gnashing, eyes flaring and that spear suddenly seemed a whole lot more threatening.
"Clarisse!" Annabeth snapped, voice more than offended. Clarisse said nothing, just glared at Piper.
The frightened daughter of the goddess of love apparently was concealing her fear very well. She just held up her hands and said in a reasonable voice, "We were just talking, like Annabeth says. And we weren't going to do anything, I swear. Seriously, La Rue, she's crazy about you, she'd never leave you. We made a mistake and she's completely loyal to you, really." The brown haired Half-blood added, "I was the one that approached her. I started talking to her, not the other way around. Just get angry at me if you need to be angry."
"Oh, there'll be no problem with that one." Clarisse sneered, "Trust me."
Desperate to diffuse the situation, Annabeth spoke up, making an effort for her voice to sound neutral, "Look, Clarisse, I won't cheat on you ever again, but I can't avoid Piper forever. You have every right not to trust me, but don't get angry at Piper. I made the choice to cheat. I'm not going to do something like that again, but I can't stay away from Piper for the rest of my life. She's one of the Seven, you know that."
Clarisse inhaled deeply. That was the meat of the issue. Both Annabeth and Piper were part of the Seven. And they still hadn't fulfilled that famous prophecy yet. Whatever it was, from what they had deduced and based on clues, it involved a statue of Athena of some kind, and Gaea and her flunkies.
Piper saw Clarisse's hesitation and decided to press her luck. She opened her mouth, Charmspeak flowing out in a melodious song, "Clarisse. It's alright. I care about Annabeth enough to let her be happy with you. I would never interfere with something that makes her happy. She's in love with you, you don't know just how much. So I will never try to ruin that for her, promise." She ended her words with a smile and it broadened when she saw Clarisse's tan muscles relaxing and the large demigod's frame started easing up. Annabeth side-smiled at Piper in appreciation, feeling almost sedated. Obviously, she wasn't unaffected by Piper's Charmspeak either, even if it wasn't directed at her.
Clarisse suddenly growled, shaking her head as if a bull shaking itself awake from a deep dream. "Don't try that pretty talk with me!" She spat, gripping her spear and her fist clenched, looking like a large marked up fist shaped sledgehammer as she walked forward. Panicked, Annabeth spoke up fast, "Clarisse, stop!" Remarkably, Clarisse actually halted in her steps at Annabeth's outburst, "Don't you get it? I'm sorry for what I did to you but I'm not going to do it again. And this is between you and me. Leave Piper out of it. As a matter of fact, we're fixing this. Now."
The blonde marched over to the now very confused Clarisse, grabbed her big fist closed around the body of the spear and tugged at the wrist. Clarisse, though appearing fairly unmovable, easily walked and followed Annabeth as if she were as pliable as molding clay, helpless to Annabeth's commands. Annabeth walked along the dirt path, guiding the larger demigod away from Piper who stared after them.
The daughter of Aphrodite watched and felt her stomach drop. She hated the ache that welled in her heart whenever she saw Clarisse and Annabeth together, but if Annabeth didn't love her then what could she do? And this was probably how Clarisse always felt after hearing that Annabeth had slept with her and Thalia, so it was just desserts, wasn't it?
(Page break)
Clarisse observed the blonde warrior in complete puzzlement as they headed towards one of the few cabins ever entered: the Hera Cabin. Few campers ever went there unless it was to honor the Queen of the Gods, but even then, most of them avoided it when they could, given Hera's wrath. In fact, Hera's anger, and her beliefs in marital status was what prompted Clarisse's next words, "What are we going to Hera's cabin for? We're not married, Anna. You didn't exactly commit infidelity."
Annabeth rolled her eyes as she snapped back, "I know, I know! But it's one of the few abandoned cabins we have. Unless we want to discuss this with your brothers and sisters around?"
Clarisse, while normally stoic and furious, laughed at the obviously rhetorical question. Well, not really, but it wouldn't really be a problem either. Her brothers and sisters already knew of her and Annabeth's relationship and all of her siblings accepted that if Annabeth was hers then she was one of theirs too; one of their pack, even if Annabeth was a child of Athena. Now, the children of Ares in that cabin, being the children of Ares often made lewd comments when they could, before Clarisse would put them in their place, but for the most part, they protected Annabeth as much as they protected Clarisse herself. However, for what they were more than likely going to do now, they probably needed some privacy.
"Besides," Annabeth said hurriedly as they got up the marble steps to the cabin, "We're not married but I guess this is the closest I'll get to not being criticized by her. I've already snubbed Aphrodite."
Clarisse shrugged. "I don't see why she'd have a problem with it," The large warrior said as they passed through the door, "McLean is Aphrodite's daughter. Isn't she just thrilled that you fucked her?" At the bluntness of Clarisse's crude question, Annabeth stopped walking as they got to the middle of the cabin and turned around, glaring at the brunette. Clarisse just stared back angrily. Annabeth knuckled her anger down. Clarisse was justified in saying what she said, but she still felt the desire to smack her for that comment.
"No, she isn't, actually." Annabeth remarked, glare still dark, even more so in the cabin void of illumination, "She's actually really happy that we're together, or don't you remember when you went to attack my dad and his wife at their place and she complimented you for it because you defended your lover?"
Clarisse smirked, recalling the terrified looks on Frederick Chase and that damn woman's face when she had barged into their home, giving them what they deserved. Oh yeah, she remembered that. At Clarisse's smirk, Annabeth groaned, dropping the other's hand, "You don't have to look so satisfied. Anyway, she was glad you did that."
"So what?" Clarisse grunted, "Aphrodite loves that type of drama. She probably got off on her bitch touching you-" this time, Annabeth didn't bother to stop herself from striking Clarisse right across the face. Time seemed stop in that moment. Clarisse slowly turned and stared at Annabeth. The blonde was just stunned by what she had done.
Without another word, Clarisse slowly shoved her spear against the wall, and propped the shield up in the corner before turning back to Annabeth. The large brunette stepped forward, making her lover tense. Clarisse watched the smaller demigod. Annabeth could practically read the other's mind. Clarisse wanted to touch her but didn't trust herself.
Annabeth sighed, hands going to her belt and undoing it, startling Clarisse. The large brunette narrowed her eyes. Annabeth, seeing Clarisse's confusion, rolled her eyes and pulled her belt out, tossing it to the cabin floor and began to pull up her shirt.
"Come on, Clarisse, do you have to ask?" The blonde mocked, "You want me to be so convinced that I'm yours? Then come take me." She threw her shirt to the floor too, kicked off her shoes and started peeling off her shorts. Soon, her body was bare, save for her underpants and bra. Those were for Clarisse to remove. Annabeth's grey defiant eyes stared into Clarisse's deep brown ones full of desire and hunger. "Well?" The blonde challenged, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here, almost naked, and you're just standing there. Come on, La Rue, you're telling me you're not going to fuck me? Do I need to go get Piper?"
Clarisse let out a growl, teeth clenched as her dark eyes became fiery and she lunged at the other demigod. Her strong arms shot out and grabbed the other around the waist, lifting her up and slamming her against the wall. On impact against the wall, Annabeth smirked. If she had known it would be this easy to get a rise out of Clarisse like this, she would have done it sooner.
Clarisse hoisted the blonde on the wall, between the other's legs, right hand grabbing the waistband of the blonde's white underwear, pulling it down to the grey eyed warrior's knees-just enough for the other demigod's womanhood to be exposed. Clarisse stared intensely into Annabeth's eyes.
Annabeth looked smug. "Go on," She goaded, "I'm yours aren't I? So prove it. Stake your claim, daughter of Ares."
Clarisse grinned like a wolf. Annabeth probably predicted this. Children of Ares and children of Athena often reacted similarly to challenges. "You're going to regret saying that." The brown haired demigod snorted, right hand roughly palming Annabeth's left covered breast, rewarded with a gasp and a buck of the blonde's hips. Clarisse's dark brown eyes narrowed down at Annabeth's golden haired groin, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry." Annabeth almost didn't register the other demigod's words until Clarisse nudged her legs further apart and leaned her head down, tongue swiping out and licking the slight moisture from Annabeth's clit. Annabeth threw her head back and cried, body thrusting upwards and then back against the cabin's interior.
There was a pleased growl from Clarisse at Annabeth's response. She kept sliding her tongue up and down, up and down against the blonde's clit, smirking as the fruits of her labor was given to her with each impassioned thrust of muscled, tan scarred hips and ragged gasps and hands clasping onto her shoulders digging in, trying to push the brunette in deeper.
"So good, Anna," Clarisse husked out as she kept licking, tongue starting to slip every now and then against the blonde's soaked vulvae, getting a scream from the demigod in question, "You taste so fucking good. Did Piper taste you like this? Then again, can't really blame her. Who wouldn't, given the chance? You taste like nectar and ambrosia, you taste like how I bet the waters in Elysium will taste. I could fucking suck you dry all day. And then fuck you good and hard some more." Annabeth whimpered, feeling herself becoming soaked. She wanted to be disgusted by how Clarisse was speaking but she just loved it when Clarisse talked to her while they were having sex. She loved it when the brunette talked dirty. She loved it when Clarisse was dominant with her. Clarisse was her safe haven, her home.
She gasped as Clarisse's tongue went inside her cunt, eyes rolling into her head. "Clariiiii-aaaah!" Came the shriek from Annabeth, her hips beginning to gyrate harder. Clarisse wickedly turned and twisted her tongue inside the blonde, both hands now up to Annabeth's chest, one hand cupping each clothed breast and squeezing the nipples gently. Clarisse thrust and thrashed her tongue around, deliberately moving her tongue up against the blonde's clitoris, almost growling in deep satisfaction when Annabeth screamed louder, body careening around against the wall. The blonde's cries turned into grunts as her hips thrust up one last time, stiffening and her eyes rolled up into the back of her skull.
Finally, the daughter of Athena collapsed against the wall, slowly sagging downwards. Clarisse pulled out from between her legs, gathering the blonde up in her arms and carried the other demigod to their bed. She gently put the daughter of Athena down on the bed. Her right hand, now free lifted and ran through Annabeth's golden bangs. Annabeth smiled up at her lover. "I'm sorry," Clarisse said, "Did I hurt you?" Annabeth shook her head.
You would never hurt me. The unspoken words rang between them. They didn't need to say it, they both knew the truth of it. "I'm sorry too," Annabeth said, eyeing Clarisse, "I love you. I would never leave you, I swear on the Riv-"
A powerful hand snapped over Annabeth's mouth, covering it and keeping the blonde from finishing that sentence. "Don't say it." Clarisse hissed, making Annabeth's grey eyes go wide at how the other warrior's voice shook and how uncharacteristically frightened those brown eyes of Clarisse's were, "Don't. I love you. You won't risk your life, just because I'm scared you'll leave. I won't let you say it." After a couple of moments, when Clarisse stared at Annabeth's face and made sure the blonde wouldn't say it, she removed her hand. Clarisse eyed Annabeth, making extra sure the other demigod wouldn't say those terrible words, she started speaking again, "You will not sleep with either Thalia or Piper again. I won't try to keep you from them. I know they're your friends but you're mine. I will never let you go. I meant it before and I mean it now. You belong to me, just like I belong to you."
She lowered them both to the floor, pushing Annabeth to her side and she laid down next to her, left hand coming up and smoothing the blonde's hair gently. Annabeth closed her eyes and leaned forward, tilting her head up, kissing Clarisse's forehead.
(My Clarisse.) Annabeth thought to herself lovingly as she pressed her forehead against her lover's, (My dear Clarisse. I hurt you. I'm sorry.) Clarisse said many times before that she forgave her, but it always hurt remembering what she did to the larger demigod, and Clarisse loved her so much…..
Annabeth inhaled, knowing she was going to sound like a broken record again, but she had to apologize. "I'm sorry, Clarisse. I'm so sorry." Clarisse smiled. One of those rare genuine, beautiful smile that she only showed when she was near someone she loved dearly. She moved forward and they embraced. "I know Frank and Jason are training and asked me to join them," Annabeth said quietly into Clarisse's neck, "But I just want to stay here, like this for a while."
Clarisse chuckled, hugging Annabeth tighter, "That, I can definitely live with."
Hope you liked it. Again, no flames or homophobic comments, please.