Disclaimer: I would like to own a world domination device. (Not to do anything with it, more just to stare at it and laugh manically every once in a while.) Percy Jackson is a world domination device. Therefore, I don't own Percy Jackson.
But I will still probably laugh manically anyway. Justforkix. And if you understand that reference, I love you.
I decided on a crush character. Technically I had a bout of indecision/mental breakdown over having to choose, so I had an epic coin tournament to decide on which one won. Regardless, I have a winner. Who is it? Well. You'll just have to read this chapter, won't you?
Review or I'll cry.
Chasing Butterflies
The first thing Ciara became aware of was the carpet under her toes.
It was soft as a cloud and the same pearly white. For a few moments Ciara was perfectly content to wriggle her toes in it, marvelling at how comfortable she was. She had slept in beds that were harder than this floor…
But the carpet wasn't enough to hold her attention forever, so Ciara's pale eyes drifted over the rest of the room. Unlike the slate grey exterior of the house this room was decorated in subtle hues of blue, white and grey. There was a couch stretched out in the corner, with indents in the cushions from years of the same sleeping position. There was a low window beside it that gazed out into the black of the Underworld, and the velvet curtains whispered against the glass.
There was no sound, except for the gurgle of a slow river crawling past Hypnos' house, and Hypnos' slow breathing. Finally Ciara realized the weight of the strong arm curled around her waist, and what the warm pillow she'd been sleeping against was. Hypnos' shirt was still crinkled on his chest, where her head has been lying only a few minutes before.
The two of them had curled up in the corner furthest from the door, and as Hypnos' chest rose and fell lightly Ciara felt a sudden wave of content overcome her. There weren't many gods that would leave another god unattended in their own home…
Ciara smiled. Not a smirk, or even a grin. No, this was a slow, truly peaceful smile. For the first time in days, Ciara felt completely and totally safe.
More than anything Ciara wanted to lean back against Hypnos' chest and fall asleep again. It would be lovely to wake up to those blue eyes staring into her own, that blonde hair brushing against her cheek as he hugged her.
But Ciara's mind was already fully awake, so she simply relaxed into his body, turning over the events of the past few days over in her head, examining every angle with a critical eye for clues that she wasn't even sure were there.
Perhaps ten minutes into this deep reflection, there was a knock at the front door.
Ciara stared across the room at the offending noise as Hypnos stirred, his eyelids fluttering.
The knock was harder the second time, it lacked the cool precise taps of the former, and it sounded like the knocker was on the verge of panic. Hypnos' eyes opened and settled on Ciara for a moment, as his face stretched into a smile. "Good morning," He said softly. The arm around her waist seemed indecisive. Should it tighten or loosen?
A third, almost frenzied attack on the front door decided things.
Reluctantly letting Ciara go Hypnos pulled himself to his feet and padded to the door. The moment he inched it open, the door was slammed back against its hinges as Nyx strode into the room.
She was a completely different woman from the one Ciara had a brief audience with. The goddess standing before her had smudges below her eyes, and her glossy hair was tousled from hours of running her fingers through it.
"Hypnos –" She started, before her eyes settled on Ciara. Suddenly Nyx burst into tears. The stars in her dress - which was crinkled and falling off one shoulder- glittered and spun with every sob. "Hypnos, Moros is missing! His sisters tell me he has been gone for almost a day…"
Hypnos stood there for a few moments, obviously taken aback by his mother's hysteria. Hypnos glanced at the sleep watch on his wrist quickly, before awkwardly putting an arm around her shaking shoulders.
"You know what the Moirae are like Mother. He must just be taking an impromptu holiday. I know I would, if I had to spend every waking hour with those hags…" Hypnos attempted a smile, which his mother ignored.
"Moros? Holiday? You know just as well as I do that he is more of a workaholic than the rest of you all combined! Except for Thanatos, of course…" Nyx's voice took on a hollow quality, as if the goddess was a void that could never be filled.
Ciara was struck deeply by the tone. The depth of Nyx's sorrow and grief was echoed in it, as well as her panic at the thought of losing another one of her children. Ciara swallowed, the keening pain of the hollowness was eating away at the hole in her own heart.
"So, nothing's happened to him?" Nyx said quietly, eyes fixed on Hypnos' face, searching for the lie that she desperately wanted. Hypnos averted his eyes, and Nyx's hand suddenly whipped up and struck Hypnos across the face.
Hypnos staggered back, stunned to silence. "I told you to take care of him! To make sure that no one else died! And what do you do…" Nyx's breath hitched in her throat as she turned away, taking a step towards the door. As her hand closed around the knob she turned back to impale Hypnos with her betrayed gaze. "You fail me Hypnos. You fail to keep your family together, and safe." Turning quickly, Nyx left, clicking the door shut softly behind her.
Somehow, it's far worse than if she'd slammed it.
Ciara shakily stands and runs to Hypnos, but before she can reach to his face, his sharply pulls back.
"Don't." He said quietly, his eyes on the river flowing past his house in a constant rush no louder than a whisper.
"Hypnos, I –" Ciara falls silent. What can she possibly say?
Hypnos squeezes his eyes closed and breathes slowly. The red mark on his cheek is beginning to fade.
"You what? You're sorry? It's not my fault? Just, just don't…" Hypnos shakes lightly, his golden curls quiver against his temples. "You don't understand."
Ciara swallows, and turns for the door. Just as her fingers brush the silver knob, Hypnos' hand latched onto her wrist.
Her fingers released the handle, just as Hypnos spun her around and kissed her.
Blood roared through Ciara's ears as she wrapped her arms around Hypnos' neck. Coiling his arms around her waist, he crushed her against him. A thousand clichés spun around Ciara's head. Fireworks. Her heart hit the ceiling, and kept on rising anyway. Fire danced across her lips. It felt like they were in the clouds… If Hypnos' carpet had been convincing before, there was no doubt in Ciara's mind now.
When the two of grudgingly broke apart, Ciara simply stared at Hypnos. They were both struck silent.
Ciara had kissed people before. But never anything like that.
Hypnos, who looked slightly shocked and dazed, was the first to break the silence. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Ciara shook her head, setting whatever had been left of her ponytail free. "Don't be sorry!" She blurted, already feeling awkward as Hypnos hung his head to hide his pinkening cheeks.
"I just… I just… The thought of you walking out that door angry…" Hypnos stammered, before finally giving up and fading away.
Ciara smiled, but the smile quickly caught and blossomed into a stupid looking grin.
"I was worried you'd never come back." Hypnos suddenly said, his blue eyes looking everywhere but at her.
Ciara's heart slammed into the ceiling, only stopped by several floors and a roof of immortal resistant plaster.
"I would've come back…" Ciara said softly, and a wave of awkward tension that rose to engulf them.
"I mean… I left my jacket…" She stammered, walking over to the couch and scooping up the shiny black leather.
Hypnos muttered something like "Yes, of course," before Ciara was suddenly hit in the face with a particularly juicy steak.
Ciara screamed and reeled backwards, smacking into the door with a resounding CRACK. Her wings jerked in panic as she clawed at her face, searching for her assailant.
Hypnos fished the offending piece of meat before the floor as Ciara wiped the juice from her cheeks, blinking furiously. Both of them were just in time to catch the quiet words that had come with the tribute. "To Thanatos, with love." It was a girl's voice, although "snarl" or "hiss" would be a better description.
As Ciara gently pressed her cheek checking for swelling, Hypnos stared at the steak in his hand. It wasn't very well cooked, it was almost bloody.
"Looks like someone has a beef with you."
Ciara shot Hypnos a look of complete disgust. "Puns. I get attacked by a flying piece of cow, and you're making puns?"
"This is pretty rare y'know. An event like this. I think that I'm going to milk it for all it's worth."
"You bastard."
"Bull. You know you love me."
Ciara opened her mouth to retort, until that ugly curtain of sexual tension settled in the air again, breathing down their necks. Hypnos rubbed the back of his neck to ward it off.
"Well done on catching it," He said slowly.
Ciara gave up objecting.
"With my face, you mean? Aren't you lovely. Making jokes at my pain." Ciara shook her head in resignation. Some boys never grow up. Even when they have had thousands of years to do so.
Before Hypnos could reply with another idiot pun, a watch started to beep loudly. Both of them checked their wrists simultaneously.
Ciara sighed, her clock had – 22 :10 : 01 as the countdown, and that minus was… ominous.
Why had it not beeped when the countdown was at zero?
Even if she was secretly glad that it hadn't, this was going to create trouble later.
Hypnos seemed to be in the same boat. "Oh. Great. Everyone on the West Coast had a sleepless night because of us…" He said jokingly.
"Why?" Ciara asked. Although she was still irritated about his puns, she was eager to unravel a little more of the mystery of her oh-so-shiny gadgets.
"Subconsciously we must have frozen the duties we have to manually do. At least, I think that's it… It's never happened to me before." Hypnos confessed, leaving unspoken words hanging in the air.
Ciara understood. Yesterday she had talked with Hypnos for hours, before the two of them had finally fallen asleep. She'd told him all about how she and Nico were trying to find Thanatos' killer, and he had listened and sat patiently the whole time. He'd let her finish, asked her what she knew so far and listened with a furrowed brow at how she knew the time of death, and Alice Pemberton's story.
The only words he'd said on the matter had stuck in Ciara's mind. "What you're doing is dangerous Ciara. You don't want to get in over your head… I think it may be best if you just drop the matter, and simply stay on your guard. I promise that you won't get hurt on my watch."
The conviction with which he'd spoken had been so convincing, but Ciara was steadfast to her goal.
She would find Thanatos' killer. And she would make them pay. Perhaps it would fill the void in Nyx, or the hole Thanatos had left in her.
Only, Ciara already knew the answer to that.
No.
No, it would not bring him back. It wouldn't make the pain go away. But it would be justice, and that was what Thanatos deserved.
"Do you think… that whoever killed Thanatos made Moros disappear?" Ciara said suddenly. Hypnos stared at her, wheels clicking in his head.
"It's possible." He said slowly, "But if it's so that makes the killer even more dangerous. Moros is our – I mean, my, older brother. He seconds only Thanatos and possibly the Moirae in power. If someone killed him, then they mean business."
Ciara's mind flicked back to the night before. Was it possible that it had been Moros who had been arguing with Hypnos? Could that mean… No. She had been with Hypnos the entire time that Moros had been missing. It couldn't have been Moros who visited last night.
Part of her was ashamed. How could she suspect Hypnos, even for a moment? He was so kind, so good… And his brother's death had hit him hard. That was blindingly obvious. The only thing keeping him from breaking down as Nyx had done was his pride.
"How many siblings do you have?" Ciara said, just to ease her mind.
"Many. The oldest are my half siblings Aether and Hemera. After them from oldest to youngest there are Momus, Moros, me, the Oneroi, the Hesperides, the Keres and the Moirae, Nemesis, Apate, Philotes, Geras, and Eris."
Ciara wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or upset. He had so many brothers; there was no way to tell if he's been speaking with an older one or a younger one!
Ciara decided to let it go. It was probably a superficial quarrel between siblings anyway. It meant nothing.
Hypnos seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry. Moros is a workaholic, but he and the Moirae fight constantly. He will just want a breather. Trust me." His easy smile quelled any tenacious fears Ciara had, and she smiled back, trusting him.
"Come on, you shouldn't keeping your clients waiting for more than 24 hours, it'd be rude." Hypnos said, guiding Ciara to the door even though she was less than a metre away.
Hypnos opened the door for them to step out, just as a man standing outside raised his hand to knock.
He was a curious looking god, tall and dressed in a long black coat. His features shifted as Ciara tried to look at his face, as if she was looking at him through glass or a puddle of water. His blue eyes regarded her coolly.
"We missed you in San Francisco brother." The light from within the house shone and caught the god's grey hair. He was still staring at Ciara, with wry amusement.
"Morpheus. Sorry, but I was preoccupied." Hypnos was not as tall as Morpheus, but it was obvious which held more power of the two. Hypnos' eyes bored into Morpheus until finally Morpheus relented and looked away.
"I see that. Another one Hypnos? Honestly. No one can keep your attention. Although…" Morpheus concentrated on Ciara's face for a moment.
"Oh no. You didn't Hypnos."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hypnos forced out through gritted teeth.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You shouldn't have done this. Especially since she's also his replacement. What does that make her, our new sister? Or niece, I can't really tell…"
Ciara did not enjoy being talked about in this matter. "I am standing here you know." She said quietly. Morpheus smiled.
"Of course you are. How could I forget such a pretty face? You're going to regret choosing it you know. "
"I didn't choose it," Ciara said flatly. Her green gaze was practically poisonous.
"Course you didn't. Anyway, I have to go. Try to show up tonight Hypnos. We all know what happens to people who test my patience."
Hypnos opened his mouth to reprimand his overly confident little brother, but Morpheus was already gone. Hypnos muttered something in Greek under his breath, before turning to Ciara. "Ignore him. He's angry because he stupidly believed that his engagements are important to me. I'll see you later, alright?" Hypnos stayed until Ciara gave him a nod, and then vanished.
Ciara dug out her notebook and checked the location of her well overdue appointment, before closing her eyes and teleporting there.
Still, Morpheus' words echoed in her mind.
Another one?
Lunch had just finished, and Nico could barely contain his excitement.
Though excitement wasn't quite the right word. Fear? Apphrensiveness? Nervousness? Those were slightly closer, but sounded terrible.
Though there was a definite sense of euphoria as well. Throughout yesterday and today, he'd replayed the conversation in his mind.
"Hey."
…
"I've seen you practicing in the arena, you're really good."
…
"It took me a while to work up the courage to ask this, haha but… I don't suppose…"
That voice, the tinge of bashfulness… It was just as well that Nico had been sitting down, because his knees had turned to jelly.
"I'd love to train with you sometime" Nico had stammered. The smile had flashed, and Nico had been so grateful that he wasn't the type to blush, or his pallid skin would have turned crimson.
"Really? How about tomorrow after lunch then…"
Nico had nodded a little too vigorously. He wanted to say something more, but Chiron had spotted them so his crush scuttled back to the table they should've been sitting at.
Just think, Nico thought. In five minutes…
Oh, he could barely think, let alone imagine!
He was nearing the arena now, could see those scuffed converse that had walked past him hundreds of times. He'd always thought that their owner had never thrown him a second glance but… No. He really shouldn't read into this. It was just practice after all.
Though Nico already hoped that it wasn't, and was very close to convincing himself that maybe, just maybe, that this would turn into something more.
However, before Nico reached the arena, a hand suddenly grabbed at his sleeve. A tall man stood there, his face concealed by a cloak.
"Come with me. We need to talk."
Nico pulled himself free and tried to keep walking. "C'mon please. Just ten minutes…!"
The man shook his head.
"Sorry lover boy. I don't have time to entertain you, and if you don't listen to what I have to say, you and your little friend Cici are going to wind up dead."
Nico froze, saw that the man was completely serious, and reluctantly followed the man back towards Hades Cabin.
Sorry. Nico mouthed towards the arena, his heart twisting in his chest.
His one chance at having that smile, and a creepy guy in a cloak had ruined it.
Story of my life, he thought.
In the immortal words of the internet…. TROLOLOLOLOLOLOL! Thought you'd get to know who the crush is didn't ya?
Review, or I'll put the entirety of the next chapter into iambic pentameter. And I really don't want to do that.
