Summary: Percy never dreamed that the childish dare would still be affecting him years later. He didn't think it would lead to his biggest crushes and most embarrassing moments. Most of all, he never expected it to lead to anything as important as this. Of course, when it comes to Silena, he had learned to expect the unexpected.
Pairings: Charles/Silena/Percy Side: Charles/Silena, Annabeth/Percy(hinted)
I've decided to dedicate this to Takara Phoenix because she happened to tell me a long while back that this was her OT3. Since I'm writing it, I figured why not? I hope you enjoy.
Playing with Sea Stars
Expecting the Unexpected
"This was a stupid idea," Percy mumbled to Grover. His eyes were glued to the fluffy pink carpet that was spread out across Cabin Ten's wooden floor. His face a dark shade of red, he was too afraid to look up and see his best friend.
Grover just smiled, enjoying the fawning from the daughters of Aphrodite he was receiving all too much. "Come on Percy. It's fine," the satyr tried to convince his demigod friend. He met Percy's sea green eyes and a grin broke out across his face. "They think I'm cute!"
The son of Poseidon offered his friend a soft smile. At least Grover was enjoying himself, with most of the younger Aphrodite girls fawning—ignore the pun—over him and his 'cuteness'. He glanced up and his cheeks immediately flared red. The older Aphrodite girls, however, clearly weren't interested in his satyr friend's 'cuteness'. No, Silena, Drew, and the other girls who's names he couldn't remember weren't even looking at them. It was as if they had lost interest in their guests.
Not that Percy was complaining. Most girls scared him. In fact, he was just beginning to transition from thinking they were gross to realizing that they could actually be pretty. They did weird things to him. They left his stomach in knots and his head spinning. It was almost as if Aphrodite herself had cast a spell to leave him speechless and afraid to disappoint them.
He bit his bottom lip and looked away as Silena met his eyes. Percy wouldn't have come if he'd had the choice. Silena and Drew had just walked up to Grover and him, asking if they wanted to hang out with them and their siblings in cabin ten until dinner. Poseidon's son wanted to decline, but then Silena had given him this look and he couldn't say no. Like he said, some kind of spell. That's what it had to be. He couldn't actually like girls.
"Oh Percy~" Drew purred, snapping her fingers to get his attention. "Come over and hang out with us. We invited you for that." Her brown eyes glared at Grover before turning on Silena, who simply rolled her eyes and smacked Drew's hand lightly.
"Be nice Drew. I think Percy and Grover are cute," the blonde said kindly. She turned back to the younger boy, motioning him over to sit beside her on the beanie bags. "Come on Percy. I do want to spend time with you. Like I said, you're a cutie." She winked at him.
The younger demigod felt his heart thumping hard as he quickly scurried over to sit by Silena. The fifteen year old girl giggled and rested an arm around his shoulders, pulling him against her side. She watched the Percy's face light up to a cherry red and poked his nose with delight. "You're such a cutie!" She told the thirteen year old, only to his embarrassment.
Drew rolled her eyes and glared at the two. She hated how they always went to her older half sister. Especially when they were cute ones like Percy! "If he's so cute, why don't you just kiss him?" She snorted, enjoying the fear that entered those pretty, sea green eyes. Silena was right, the little child of Poseidon was cute, even when his body shook with fear.
"Maybe I will," Silena smiled lovingly. She turned back to the fear filled boy and her eyes darkened a little. "I don't think little Percy would like that, though."
The Asian girl sneered. She kicked the blonde at her feet, making the young girl yelp and stare at Drew with fearful blue eyes. "Uh, I dare you to kiss him, Silena," Lacy murmured, turning away as Drew nodded in approval.
"I second it," Drew added quickly, listening as one of her sister's third the dare.
Percy gulped and looked around desperately for Grover. He found that he was alone in this since his friend was still being fawned over by the younger girls, completely oblivious to what was happen. He couldn't kiss Silena! He was only thirteen and she was a girl and...and it would feel weird!
Before he had the chance to object, Silena had grabbed Percy's chin and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "All done sweetheart. No harm, no scars." She kissed his nose, giggling, "Hope you don't mind a little Aphrodite child like me taking your first kiss."
The younger male shook his head quickly, so not to offend her. Silena was too nice(and pretty but he refused to admit that even in his mind) to be sad. "It-it's fine Silena," he managed to get out, blushing red and looking down at his lap.
The blonde just smiled softly. She kissed his cheek then went back to her conversation with Drew as if nothing had happened. That was something Percy was grateful for.
Playing with Sea Stars
Percy stood in the middle of his cabin feeling too...normal. Yeah, that was the only way the boy could describe it. Everything felt too normal lately, not that it was unwelcome. Camp needed some normality after what they had gone through. After finding the famous Labyrinth and seeing Luke like that, they needed something normal. Something that was...familiar.
Someone cleared their throat and Percy spun around, surprised. He wasn't expecting anyone to come by since Tyson had left early, intent on helping Beckendorf in the forages until dinner time. Plus Annabeth had been ignoring him ever since she had kissed him in the labyrinth, so he was positive she wasn't going to come by.
Silena stood in the doorway, tapping her clipboard with that purple sparkle pen she always kept hanging out of her back pocket. Her hair was down today, blonde curls loosely falling over her shoulders and flowing over her orange tank top that only she could pull off. Percy's face lit up red as his thoughts mirrored those from two years ago. Only this time, he could describe the daughter of Aphrodite as beautiful and not simply kind of, I guess so, pretty.
"Everyone forgot it was my inspection day," she offered him after a few minutes of his staring. Her brown eyes were sparking with amusement as she caught his eyes trailing her. "All their cabin's are a huge mess because no one thought we would pick up cabin inspections so quickly."
All Poseidon's son could do was nod. His eyes were glue to the floor, too embarrassed to even look at her. "Really?"
Silena nodded, laughing. "Yep. The Ares' cabin is the best one so far, and that alone is saying a lot." He heard her footsteps as she made her way through the cabin. His bed squeaked. "I must admit, yours is very nice. Considering what it normally looks like, when Tyson wasn't staying in your cabin, this is an improvement. I'll put you into second place."
A small smile crept onto his face as he glanced over at her. She sat cross legged on his bed and was marking on her clipboard. She flipped the page and began to doddle, as if she couldn't care less where she was. He remember how he had avoided Silena after she had kissed him, mainly out of embarrassment, but also because his heart would pound every time he saw her. It worried him. Almost as much as the other person his heart would beat that hard around.
"How are things between you and Charlie?" Percy asked, moving to sit next to her on the bed.
Silena smiled as she doodled. He leaned his head on her shoulder to watch. She was trying to draw one of the sea flowers Tyson had brought in at the beginning of the summer that seemed to be in bloom now. "Good," she confessed, letting her head rest against his. "He's been talking to Chiron for a while now and finally convinced him to let us go on a date outside of camp."
Percy's heartbeat a little fast and the corners of his lips dipped downward slightly. "Really?" He tried to keep his voice from getting higher. "Where can he take you that Chiron would agree to?" No one left camp. Letting two demigods—dating demigods, nonetheless—leave camp was a surprise and never happened.
"There's this little carnival in the next town over. One with rides and food and games," she smiled. "Chiron said that it's close enough that we'll be able to get to camp quickly, if needed. All we really have to do is stick together and keep our weapons close."
The younger male let out a little sigh before he realized it. "That sounds..really nice Silly," he muttered, hating that he sound so upset. The last thing he wanted was to bring the blonde down, especially since it was her first out of camp date.
Silena's brown eyes sparkled as she glanced up at Percy. She scribbled a little note on her drawing before tearing it off her clipboard. Folding it up, she offered it to her friend. "Do me a little favor, please?"
Pulling those puppy dog eyes that shouldn't have been possible at Silena's age, Percy found he couldn't say no. "Of course. What do you need?"
She waved the note in front of his face. "Deliver this to Charlie while I finish inspections?"
He smiled, taking the note. "Of course. That's easily enough." Plus I haven't seen Charlie in a while, Percy thought to himself.
Playing with Sea Stars
Beckendorf was just finishing his designs when he heard the forage door open. "Charlie!" A smirk easily slipped onto his lips as he heard Percy's voice. The son of Poseidon hadn't visited him in a while, at least not without Tyson dragging him along. "Charlie! Where are you?"
"I'm at the worktables," He called, turning around in his seat. He spotted the younger boy maneuvering around the forage. Percy looked cheerful as ever. Then again, the demigod always seemed to be in a good mood when he was visiting. "And, you're lucky no one's here. Otherwise I'd have to kick your butt for calling me that."
Percy's face lit up like a Christmas tree and Charles' with a grin. "Where is everyone anyway?" The green eyed male wondered. He stopped in front of Hephaestus' son, rocking back and forth on his feet. It was only him and Beckendorf at the moment when, normally, all of cabin nine would spend every second of free time in here.
"They went out for lunch," he explained, now happy he had decided to stay behind and wait for dinner.
"Oh." Percy nodded, his face staying a light shade of pink. He was silent for a few minutes. His nervousness was getting the better of him as he chewed away at his bottom lip and wondered if Charlie could see it. He didn't want the older boy to see him as that. "Oh!" He said again then fished through his pockets. He held Silena's note out to him. "Silly asked me if I could bring this to you."
Charlie nodded, taking it. "Thanks Percy." He stuffed it into his pocket before, patting the seat beside him. "Sit down. I'll show you want I'm working on."
Poseidon's son didn't hesitate to sit beside him. His eyes wondered over Charlie's hands as he moved, noticing how big they were. Catcher's mitts. That was what he had compared them to the first time he'd met the older boy last summer. Now, though, he found himself obsessed with them, determined to find every scar and bump. Shaking his head, Percy looked back to the drawings on the table. "What are you designing?"
"It's a bracelet for Silena," he confessed, tracing over the circular shape before double checking his math. "I'm going to make it for her tonight and give it to her before we go to the carnival." He chuckled, smirking at Percy, "I'm sure she already told you about our date."
Blushing again, the younger demigod nodded. "Yeah. She told me when she stopped by for cabin inspection."
"That's today?!"
Percy laughed at Charlie's shocked expression. "I know. Apparently no one thought that she would be starting up this early. Ares' cabin is winning and I'm second place," he leaned on Charlie's arm, grinning. "Meaning, everyone is screwed."
Charlie sighed, rubbing his head. "You're right. Everyone is screwed so why should I worry about it." He smiled and turned back to the design.
The two fell into a comfortable silence as Charles drew and Percy watched. Both were perfectly content with this, with just sitting in each other's company. Neither spoke until Nyssa stumbled back into the forage, wiping what looked like soda off her face. She grinned, offering a hello to Percy and wink at her brother before going to her workstation.
Poseidon's son smiled and waved at her. Charles threw a bolt at his sister, to which Nyssa stuck her tongue out at him and threw back. This continued for a few minutes until Nyssa finally called out, "Why don't you take your little boyfriend and leave your work alone for once? I'm sure he's tired of sitting in the forage all day. Aren't you Jackson?"
Percy's mouth fell open. His face slowly darkened into a deep red color. "I'm not...we aren't...uh..." His speeding heart flew into his throat and stopped him from speaking. "I should go. Bye Charlie!" He ran out of the forage before anyone could say anything else.
Hephaestus' son frowned, waving after him. He glared at Nyssa. "You scared him off. Nice job. By the way, I'm not dating Percy Jackson. Silena's my girlfriend."
Nyssa's eyebrows were knitted together as she looked after the demigod. Finally, she turned back to her brother, her expression still confused. "He called you Charlie...and you didn't threaten him..." A large grin broke out across her face. "Brother is in love!"
"Shut up Nyssa!"
Playing with Sea Stars
Silena sat on the soft grass, fingering her bracelet lovingly. It was beautiful, really. She especially loved the engraving on the inside—C+S Always—and even the little detailed flowers on the outside. Lilies and roses with vines filling the spaces in between. The blonde would have never believed her boyfriend capable of such delicate work and that was what made her love it all the more. Charlie had really tried with this one.
The girl let out a soft sigh as she leaned into Charles' arms. "I love it," Silena whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. She pressed her ear against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.
Hephaestus' son had a small smile fall on his lips, kissing her head. Charles ran his hands through her blonde hair, marveling some at how soft it felt beneath his calloused fingers. "I'm so glad. I worked hard on it." He touched her chin, lifting her face so their eyes met, "Now tell me why you seem so sad."
Slowly, a frown slipped onto Silena's face. That was the only thing she could ever dislike about her Charlie. He could see right through her moods no matter how good she was at hiding them. "I'm not..." she stopped as he eyed her, "Okay, maybe a little. It's just that I can't help thinking about what Percy's been going through lately. You've heard about him and the Annabeth fiasco."
Charles sighed some. Of course he had heard it. Ever since the labyrinth battle, that was one of the camp's favorite gossip stories. "You mean Annabeth's little cat and mouse game? I think that's a little low of her, considering Percy's loyalty fault."
Aphrodite's daughter nodded, resting her head on Charles' shoulder. "I know. It's horrible. I really thought they could have been a good match too. I mean, they are best friends and my mother approved."
"Your mother isn't always right. Look at all her mess ups through history," Charles said, hoping to make his girlfriend feel better. He rubbed small circles into her back. "Come to think of it. It's not that your mother is good at matching people, but more that she gets lucky sometimes."
Silena couldn't help but laugh. "I think you're right. She didn't approve of us, yet here we are." The blonde girl leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Then, with the largest grin, she jumped to her feet. "Come on. We have a little sea star to grab!"
With a sigh, Charles took his girlfriend's hand, standing up. "What are you planning?" He questioned, allowing Silena to pulled him along through the forest. He couldn't say he minded. He loved seeing Silena happy, plus watching Percy sulk left a bad taste in his mouth. The young son of Poseidon wasn't made to be sad.
She barely glanced back at him as she skipped ahead. "I want him! He's a sweetheart and doesn't deserve to be played with," Silena explained. She slowed some, looking back up at him in hopes of him understanding her point. "If I see him get hurt, it will break my heart. Therefore, because we both have crushes on the sea star, I've decided we will scoop him up before anyone else can hurt him."
With that, Charles no longer questioned her. He couldn't argue that he didn't harbor even the smallest crush for the sea star—as Silena had called him—nor could he say that he didn't care. He did. If Percy's heart was broken, then the tinkerer did not doubt he would feel pain of his own. "Okay," he agreed, "Let's keep him."
Playing with Sea Stars
The couple found Percy by the lake. He was laid across the ground, picking out little rocks from the edge of the water, letting it float on him and still not getting wet. His face was somber with not hint of even a smile. It pulled at Silena's heart and left a strange taste in the back of Charles' throat.
"I'm so jealous," Silena stated. She kicked her shoes off and sat on the ground beside him, letting her feet dip into the warm waves. "You can get so close to the water and not get wet. It's, like, the best superpower Aquaman."
Percy looked up at her and a small smile came onto his face. "Hey Silly," he offered, reaching over and running his hands up her legs. She shivered, a soft pink blush taking over her cheeks. "What happened to your date?"
"We were about to head out, then Silena reminded me of something," Charles explained, sitting on the other side of Percy.
Poseidon's son turned to him, his eyes wide in surprise. "Really? What could Missus Beauty Queen find more important than her first real date with the love of her life?"
"Hey!" She flushed red.
Percy rolled his eyes, sitting up and grinning at her. "Relax. I'm just kidding Silly. You're sweeter than a beauty queen." She blushed more and looked away. "But, seriously Charlie. What did she remind you of?"
Charles' smiled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an identical silver bracelet to Silena's. The only difference being that carved into it were seashells instead of flowers. "She reminded me I forgot to give you this," he explained, holding it out to Percy.
The younger demigod's mouth fell open as he stared. "B-but...that's what you were making for Silena yesterday," he tried to explain, pointing over to the blonde girl.
She only giggled and held out her wrist, showing off her bracelet. "Yep! Now we have matching ones. Also, one more thing." She leaned down and kissed him. "Charlie and I decided we think you're adorable. Want to come to the carnival with us?"
Percy's jaw dropped more. His eyes glazed over and it seemed as if the boy had shut down. Charles rolled his eyes some. He grabbed Percy's chin and turned his head, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "Just say yes so we can get going. You can gap at everything later. We're on a time schedule." He took one of Percy's hands, Silena taking the other, and pulled him to his feet.
When there still wasn't any response, Silena began to worry. "Percy?" She questioned, leaning down so she could look straight into the young teen's eyes. "Do you want to be our little boyfriend? If not, we will leave and not mention this again..."
At hearing that, Poseidon's son began shaking his hand fanatically. His hands were flying around, grabbing at both of them in hopes of holding the two in place. "No no no! I...I really like both of you." Percy dropped his hands to his side, looking down at his feet. He attempted to use his short hair to hide the blush forming on his face, but failed miserably.
Silena grinned. She looked up, meeting Charlie's eyes. He nodded some and, almost as if reading his girlfriend's thoughts, wrapped his arms around Percy's waist. He kissed the younger boy's shoulder. "Good. We are going to keep you then."
The blonde nodded, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. "That's right! Since you like us, we are going to keep you." She leaned down and gave him a soft kiss.
Percy blinked some. He leaned back to lay against Charles' chest as Silena pulled away. Everything was so overwhelming. He hadn't expected any of this. He had given up on Silena since that day in the Aphrodite cabin years ago and written off his crush on Charlie as nothing. After all, the two people he had liked most, who treated him the best, were in a relationship and he didn't want to butt in. Now, though, it seemed like he didn't have a choice in the matter.
There was a soft chuckle in his ear and the younger demigod let out a yelp of surprise, feeling circles being rubbed into his hips. "You're stuck with us for life now Perseus," Charles told him, kissing his ear.
Silena nodded, messing with his black hair. "Of course. You're our little boyfriend and no one else's. No other boy's or girls. Especially not Annabeth's." Her face twitched some at mentioning the young blonde. She really hated everything that Annabeth had done to little Percy. Of course, she doubt the brainiac had done it on purpose, but still...it was mean to toy with the clueless boy.
Not knowing what else to do, Percy simply nodded. "Okay. I'm all yours. Why do I have the feeling I will regret those words one day?"
He could feel Charles shrugging behind him. "Maybe one day. Now, though, we have a date. Let's move. No more playing around. We have a schedule to keep!" He unwrapped one arm from Percy, putting it around Silena.
Percy could feel his heart fluttering out of his chest. He loved the large smile that was ever present on Silena's face and the warm feeling of Charles' arm around his waist. It left his whole body warm and giddy. This feeling couldn't be topped, he decided. This amazing feeling of knowing the two nicest, most amazing people in the world cared about him. Maybe even loved him. His stomach twisted in knots. Love...such a strong word. "Maybe someday," he whispered.
"What was that?"
He shook his head, looking up at Charlie. "Nothing. I'm just being me," he laughed, grinning. Yes, definitely someday.
I had so much fun writing this. Thank you for reading.
~Goddess of the Multiverses