I swear this was supposed to be fluff. Yet, somehow, it turned out as one of the most angst-ridden fics I've ever wrote. Enjoy!

Grover/Juniper for PJO Ship Week #3.

Fire's Burning

-fire's burning, fire's burning, draw nearer, draw nearer-

She's not exactly sure when this fear started, but she knows what caused it.

She still has those horrible nightmares- the fire closing in around her tree, her life force, as her breath gets shorter and he tries frantically to put it out. It's just like what actually happened at the Battle of the Labyrinth, only in her dream Percy doesn't quench the roaring flame. Every night since then, she's woken up screaming.

This, of course, has made her a main source of gossip around the other nymphs. Some of the kinder ones come up with theories close to the truth, but others have been downright brutal. So now She screams at night and cries during the day. Only when no one can see her, of course.

He doesn't know. After all, the second he finds out, he'll leave her for being too weak and worthless. After all, what kind of pansy is terrified of something like fire? She feels like such a cowardcowardcoward. So she keeps it a secret, hoping no one notices how pale and sleep-deprived she looks. But of course, you can't hide from everyone, so when Annabeth approaches her, She has a ready excuse- she's having nightmares about the battle. It's still the truth, but just a small portion of it.

Annabeth comforts her, tells her everyone else is, and then gives her a vial of something to help her sleep. She tosses it into the lake, watches it sink further and further into the murky water before going back to her tree to cry.

It doesn't help that you can still see the singed grass from the fight, only inches from her life force.

A couple days later, she reluctantly goes down to the pavilion for dinner. She doesn't want to eat, but her tree is getting weak from lack of food and she hates to see her tree like that, all shrivelled leaves and dry roots. She's just gotten her food when suddenly the brazier the demigods use for offerings whooshes up behind her, spewing hot air and smoke on her back.

Her plate crashes to the ground as she bolts from the pavilion.

He's at a meeting with the Council of Cloven Elders and doesn't hear about it until late that night. But by that point, She's long gone. She's not by the stream, or her tree, or anywhere in the woods. She couldn't have gone far, though- her life force keeps her anchored to the camp. Energized by this thought, he sets off yet again into the forest, calling out her name.

They don't find her until two days later, huddled in a hollow and unconscious.

She blames it on a panic attack, and they all believe her. Except for him. He stares at her with hard, untrusting eyes and she feels like sobbing yet again. But she can't tell him. She won'tcan'twon't tell him. In a way, the mistrust is better. At least it comes with the knowledge that she's still his girlfriend.

Until he breaks up with her.

Not enough trust, he tells her sadly, rubbing his curly hair.

She wants to scream at him till her throat's raw, tell him that she was just trying to save herself from the pain of having to go through this. But in the end, it was inevitable.

Her eyes are permanently tinged green now, and harsher circles appear underneath her eyes. Her tree is now wilted, dead leaves scattering the ground around it. Her friends finally give up on her after too many failed attempts to get her to talk. She doesn't come to the pavilion for meals anymore; she sneaks into the kitchen afterwards and grabs extra scraps.

It's like she's a zombie, not even living anymore.

He tries to talk to her again, but every time he gets close, she melts back into her tree and effectively cuts off any form of communication. She will stay there for as long as needed, hearing her life force thrum weakly as it chants over and over again, deaddeaddead.

She knows her tree's dying; she knows she's dying.

And, in a way, she doesn't care.

This fear- even though that's far too small of a word to describe it- of fire has begun to rule her life, and she's tired of it. She can't go anywhere without imagining the raging inferno engulfing her, killing her. It's now in her waking moments as well as her nightmares.

Finally, she slumps by the base of her tree, which is now nothing more but a shrivelled log, and breathes in what she knows will be her last breaths. As a sapling, she had never even imagined she would someday end up like this.

But yet, here she is.

Arms wrap around her suddenly, lifting her off the ground. Either she's dead, or it's- her eyes flicker open- him.

He carries her into the infirmary, and all of the sudden there are sososo many loud voices all pounding inside of her head. Her eyes roll back in her head, and suddenly the voices get louder for a second, before it's all silent.

A couple days later, she awakens, thrashing around and screaming from another nightmare. He enters, circles evident underneath his eyes, and demands to know what's going on.

And then it all comes out. The fear, the nightmares, the teasing, the crying, the lying. He listens to it all, his eyes burning with barely repressed fury. If possible, it terrifies her even more, because he's never been this angry before.

Finally, when it's all done, he hugs her tight, and she sobs into his chest. Then, just like that, everything's back to normal.

They're in love, they're happy, that's all they ever wanted.

But still, there's one little problem that needs to be addressed. So, it's with great trepidation when the two of them sit down by the campfire a couple weeks later. She's shaking, but he's hugging her close, mumbling into her ear.

The fire burns brighter as she finally starts to relax, leaning back onto his chest.

"Grover." She whispers.

"Juniper." He whispers.

And with that, they kiss, and all is right with the world.

-in the gloaming, in the gloaming, come sing and be merry-

Quite honestly, I'm not sure where this idea came from, but I'm actually really proud of it, so... review please?

Thanks for reading!

-Jace ;)

PS: Here's the full list, if anyone needs it:

July 14-20 (Thalia and Luke)

July 21-27 (Beckendorf and Silena)

July 28-August 3 (Grover and Juniper)

August 4-10 (Chris and Clarisse)

August 11-17 (Tyson and Ella)

August 18-24 (Frank and Hazel)

August 25-31 (Leo and Hazel)

September 1-7 (Leo and Reyna)

September 8-14 (Jason and Reyna)

September 15-21 (Jason and Piper)

September 22-28 (Free Ship!)

September 28- October 7 (Percy and Annabeth)