Hazel looked at Percy warily as he smiled at Thea's excitement. The daughter of Neptune clung to the boy and babbled happily about her day. She sat in his lap and leaned against his chest, his scarred hands swam through thick curls as he listened to her story. Greyish green eyes stared blankly ahead, his smile was forced, and he appeared to be rather tense as he kept his feet on the ground so he could have slight visual of his surroundings.

The accident had changed Percy in ways none of them could have imagined. Rather than succumbing to his obvious depression he instead ignored it and feigned happiness. And while Percy was a horrid liar, he was great at pretending that everything was fine and dandy. But Hazel could read Percy easily, she had known him for years, and she couldn't help but grow frustrated as Percy distanced himself from everyone.

They had been through everything together, and she didn't know why Percy felt like he had to do this on his own. The entire camp knew of what happened between Percy and Japetus, and he had gained nothing but respect and praise for his strength. Campers clapped him on the back and thanked him for his loyalty, and while Percy had smiled and laughed off their apologies for his new handicap, Hazel could always hear the hollowness in his voice.

"Hazel?" She was awoken from her musings by Percy. He was standing up now and Thea was in his arms fast asleep, her face was buried into the crook of his neck and her arms were wrapped around his shoulders.

She felt slight panic as Percy took a step forward,"Yes?" She never knew how to act around him anymore. She knew he wouldn't want her to baby him and that he wanted to be treated normally, but she also wanted to help. The littlest things made Percy angry nowadays, one time Piper had grabbed his hand to lead him around and he had cursed at her for "coddling him" before storming away. He had quickly returned to his leader, apologizing profusely for not acting like a proper gentleman, and while Piper had forgiven him instantly, Hazel knew that Percy still felt bad about it.

He didn't want to be a burden and all the Romans knew that. Percy grew frustrated with everyone's hesitance to spar with him, even Reyna made up excuses for why she couldn't, and Hazel truly didn't feel comfortable attacking her blind boyfriend. And she knew he felt insulted by this, and when other's refused to fight him he'd disappear for hours at at time, usually coming back in the morning to fulfill his camp duties.

"You're in the way of Thea's bunk." He spoke softly, eyes flickering to the direction of the cot as he slowly made his way closer to it. Hazel quickly moved, watching worriedly as Percy gently laid the younger girl down. Long fingers patted around the bed and she heard him grunt in frustration as he tried to find the covers.

Biting her lip she stepped forward and pulled the blanket to Percy's searching hand. He stiffened at this before scowling and tucking Thea in. Without a word he left the tent with Hazel quick at his heels.

"I didn't need your help." He muttered, jamming his hands in his pockets and glaring in her general direction.

Hazel frowned,"I know, but I wanted to help-"

"I can still do things by myself!" He snapped, whispering heatedly in Greek before turning his back on her. Before he could move Hazel lunged forward and grabbed his arm, yanking him back to her. He stumbled backwards into her lean frame, slender arms wrapped around his waist and she gently laid her cheek against his back.

"I know you can." She murmured, holding him a little tighter to her,"Percy...I can't imagine what you're going through right now-"

"I'm fine." He growled, glaring angrily at the ground before him,"You don't have to worry about me all the time." And while she could hear the anger and warning in his voice, he hadn't moved from her embrace, and she saw this as a positive.

A soft chuckle escaped her as she kissed his shoulder,"I've always worried about you, even before we started dating. You could have the vision of an eagle and I'd still be worried about you, and that won't ever change." He relaxed against her before turning around offering a small smile, and though she knew he couldn't see it, she smiled back widely at him.

Warm hands cupped her cheeks and soft fingers traced her face fondly. Percy's hands were far softer than most of the other campers. He didn't have calloused hands from wielding a blade, but instead he had scarred knuckles from his hand to hand fighting style. Hazel's hands were full of calluses and rough from the countless times she had fought with her sword, and Percy's soft hands were a nice change.

"You're too good to me, Hazel, makes me wonder why you stick around." He breathed, blind eyes searched her face fruitlessly, as if looking for the beautiful smile and bright amber eyes he had fallen in love with. Tears pricked her eyes at the sight, it saddened her immensely whenever Percy tried to look at her, he always appeared so lost.

She could see the spark of hope that temporarily lit up his eyes as he looked for her through the inescapable darkness. His eyes would soon dim when he realized he couldn't see her anymore, he couldn't really see anything anymore; just outlines of people and things through the vibration of the earth. Hazel blinked back the tears and looked away from him when she noticed the gleam leave his eyes.

She swallowed thickly and forced a smile,"You're still you, Percy, and I'd be the biggest fool to give you up." Percy smiled weakly at this before his thumb ran across her lip, Hazel looked back at him in slight surprised as he leaned forward to kiss her.

He missed and lips hit her nose instead. Hazel stiffened, expecting Percy to once again grow angry, but instead he barked out a quiet laugh. Grinning, Hazel was quick to join him, relieved to hear her boyfriend's real laugh for the first time in weeks. Still smiling widely he leaned his forehead against hers and gave her that searching look again before sighing softly.

"I may not be able to see you but I know you're smiling at me right now." Hazel felt her smile broaden as he continued,"It's a big smile too, ain't it." It wasn't a question, and Hazel chuckled in confirmation which caused Percy to grin and plant a kiss on her forehead,"Golly gee, I love you babydoll." He hummed, kissing her nose again before giving her the gentlest kiss on her lips.

Hazel smiled into the kiss as her arms slung around his neck to pull him closer.

-Line Break-

"Again." Gaea said firmly, raising chunks of earth into the air and launching them at Percy. The boy stood on a tall, earth platform, making it harder for him to detect his mother's movements. He listened carefully to the rocks whizzing through the air, trying to time them just right.

1...2...3! He threw a fist at the rock that he had expected to be aimed at his face. His knuckles slammed into the hard material of the earth, making it explode into dust, this made him momentarily elated at finally having been able to detect its movement. His excitement, however, was short lived as another rock swept his legs out from under him. He fell to the ground with a curse and quickly rolled to his feet, ignoring the sweat that rolled down his body as a frustrated snarl escaped his lips.

"This is pointless!" He jumped from the platform so he now stood in front of his mother. His chest was heaving and he knew that he had at least five bruises on his abdomen and a scratch on his leg, he could feel the blood rolling down his calf.

Gaea gently reached out and cupped his cheeks,"My child," She murmured softly,"you must be patient."

Percy sneered and ripped away from her grasp defiantly,"How can I be patient when your son blinded me!" He snapped, growing even more angered when tears filled his eyes,"Now I'm even weaker than before." He paused before pointing at her accusingly,"Do you even care?" He asked incredulously, feeling rage devour him at the unfairness of it all,"Or is it alright that he did this, because he's family and family can do whatever they want and we have to be okay with it just because we happen to be related to them."

A sharp slap caused him to jump back and yelp in pain. He held his cheek as he looked in his mother's direction in confusion and disbelief. The primordial strode forward, causing Percy to flinch back as he felt her get closer. Instead of another strike, Gaea merely cradled his face in her hands once again before pressing a delicate kiss on his forehead.

Her thumb stroked his now stinging cheek,"You are never to question my love for you again." She hissed angrily, but Percy had gotten far better at picking up emotions in the tones of people's voices. He had to since he could no longer see facial expressions. Gaea attempted to sound enraged, but he could hear the slight waver in her voice, indicating that his doubt in her had hurt her immensely.

"You are my son, my world, I love you far more than I should..." She trailed off, pulling Percy tightly to her chest and rested her chin on his hair,"I'm furious about what happened...and I swear to you that your brother's crimes will not go unpunished." She drew back and cupped his face in her hands,"Now, get back on your platform, we're going again." She instructed, her voice becoming firm as she took a step away from him,"You are my son," She said again, anger seeping into her words as she readied her boulders,"and I will train you to be stronger. And I will never let anyone hurt you like that again."

"You've been unusually quiet lately." Reyna commented, walking slowly besides the son of Terra as they made their rounds. Percy scowled at this but didn't bother responding as he listened intently to the forest. Birds, the crunch of leaves, a...a snake? He listened closer as he heard the soft hiss of an animal, he concentrated on the vibrations, only to mentally curse when he realized the creature wasn't on the ground. It had to have been a snake if it was moving so soundlessly, it was probably in the trees.

"Percy-"

The boy didn't look at her as he reached out to a nearby tree and placed his hand upon it,"I'm more quiet because unlike you, I have to listen and feel to be able to sense the forest around me." He snapped harshly,"And I can't very well do that when I'm running my mouth."

A sigh escaped her,"I just worry-"

"Well don't." He turned to her, murky colored eyes flitted over towards the area she was standing at,"If I needed a worrier I would have gone on patrol with Hazel." He groused, instantly feeling bad about his dismissal of the two women, but at the same time he was far too agitated to care. He was tired of everyone hovering over him, he was still a capable fighter with or without his eyesight, and he'd show everyone that they no longer needed to treat him as though he were an incompetent child.

Before Reyna could get another word in Percy looked up at the tree and said,"I know you are there, come here." He extended his hand and at first Reyna thought he had gone mad. She hadn't heard or seen anything in the trees, so what was the chance that a blind man could? To her surprise a long, red, yellow, and black serpent slithered down to the boy's outstretched hand. Percy didn't even flinch as it slithered around the length of his arm so that it's head rested upon his knuckles.

Reyna nearly yelled in shock at the serpent's color scheme. She remembered the rhyme, red touches yellow then you're a dead fellow. This snake was venomous and Percy was playing with it, probably not knowing what type of snake it was. She didn't know what type of snake it was, only that it was very similar to a corn snake. Before she began to fuss over the boy she remembered that the snake was one of Terra's sacred animals. A breath of relief escaped her, Percy just found a friend.

Percy turned back to Reyna and grinned in her direction before addressing the snake,"What is your name?" He asked the reptile, gently stroking its body with his thumb. In New Orleans there had been several snakes and gators lurking about, so Percy and Hazel had never feared them because they often visited the swamps to get away from everyone else. Looking back on it now, Percy realized how the snakes always seemed to watch him, probably knowing of his mother and keeping a watchful eye over him.

The snake answered in a feminine voice,"Whatever you wish for it to be, milord."

This caused Percy to chuckle lightly,"I've never been good at names. If given the option I'd name you, Snakey..." He trailed off with a soft laugh as the snake let out a hiss.

"I see. Well then, my name is Sikana."

"I'm Percy."

"You must be careful milord, the wolves are out." Sikana spoke cryptically making Percy frown in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Werewolves."

Percy didn't bother turning to Reyna as he asked,"Reyna...do werewolves like us?" He listened closely as her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed thickly.

"Werewolves? That's what the snake said?"

"Yes." He replied calmly, leaning down and palming the ground. He stilled as he reached out through the earth, feeling the vibration of multiple paws striking the ground, growing closer with each second that passed.

"What do you feel?" Reyna implored anxiously, drawing her spear and taking a step forward.

Percy stood to his feet and grabbed her hand,"Lead us to a clearing, the wolves will catch up to us soon and we need open space if we'll be able to fight them off." It'd be quicker for Reyna to lead him since he was still adjusting to his new type of sight. His training sessions with his mother had exhibited how much better his combat was when he was out in the open. The forest was a tricky place, if he didn't pay good enough attention then he wouldn't realize if an enemy was waiting to ambush him from above.

Reyna squeezed his hand and shook her head,"Percy, I need to get you to safety-"

"What you need to do," He interrupted coldly, milky colored eyes eerily peered at her as he clenched his teeth,"is get me to a nearby clearing. We will die if you don't, now let's go."

Moments later the two were sprinting through the forest hand in hand. Sikana curled gently around Percy's neck and helped him get a visual description of his surroundings. The son of Gaea focused intently on the vibrations of the earth, feeling it tremble as the wolves got closer to them. There were five and they were extremely large, he was able to make out a faint outline of the pack and a curse escaped him as he heard a faint bark.

"We're here." Reyna said sharply, obviously on edge from the imminent threat after them. Percy jolted at the feeling of her pulse quickening, surprised by how much stronger his senses had become since training with his mother.

Percy turned his attention back to the threat at hand while stepping away from Reyna,"Good. Now stay out of my way." He ordered, commanding the earth to form his usual rock boxing gloves.

Reyna was angered at the sight, lunging forward and grabbing his shoulder roughly she snarled,"I know you want to prove yourself, but this isn't the way to do it-"

Percy wrenched her hand off his shoulder,"I'm not proving anything to you!" He snapped, turning away from her and placing his snake on the ground so she could slither to safety,"I am the son of Terra," The earth trembled in his wake as he walked into the middle of the clearing,"one of the strongest primordials to ever live," cracks appeared in the ground around him and Reyna took a startled step backwards,"and I am not helpless."

As soon as he said this a wolf lunged at him from the dense woods. Reyna yelled in surprise and drew her weapon, ready to help her companion, but to her shock Percy stood there calmly with a large grin on his face. It wasn't a malicious grin, but instead a happy one. He was excited to be back to fighting and using his powers, Reyna realized, watching in slight disbelief as Percy timed the wolf's lunge perfectly and slammed a rock covered fist in its face.

The beast yelped and flew backwards before slamming into a tree. It jumped to it's feet and with a snarl it awaited for its pack. The rest of the wolves appeared and circled Percy, there were five, and Percy still stood there at ease. Reyna watched closely as the boy shifted his foot, his head tilted to the side, and his grin only broadened when two wolves charged at him at the same time.

The son of Terra took one step to the right and the earth launched him into the air. As he flew he aimed both his fists at the pack, his rock gloves jumped from his fingers and broke into large chucks of earth. The spray of the rocks resembled a shotgun blast, further impressing Reyna, because Percy had calculated how to attack his enemies while he was in the air and couldn't sense the vibrations.

The rocks slammed into the wolves and they snarled, one now had a limp, and they raced over to his location. When Percy landed the earth shook violently causing the wolves to stumble, as they tried to regain their bearings, Percy launched himself forward. He skated on the ground and summoned more earth onto his fists.

Reyna watched in awe as he viciously stomped a wolf's leg, getting the angle just right so that it snapped like a twig. The beast yelped in pain as its pack came to its defense. Without missing a beat Percy whirled around and punched a wolf in the jaw with his left hand, causing it to fly backwards; and with a stunning precision he aimed his right fist at the other attacker and fired his rock gauntlet at it.

Unlike the shotgun blast that Percy had previously used, this time the rock had formed into a more spear like shape, catching the wolf right in the eye and making it drop instantly. Its corpse slid to Percy's feet and this caused all the werewolves to freeze, they were now far more cautious of him. Percy stood up straight and with a wave of his hand he launched the wolf, whose leg he had broken, forward with the earth and flung it towards its remaining pack. It whimpered in agony as it hit the ground with a hard thud, its leg was dangling limply and its pack looked over it worriedly.

"You know who I am." Percy stated, looking in the wolves's direction before gently sliding their dead companion over to them,"I don't want to kill you, but if you attack me again then I'll have no choice, now scram." His grin was gone as he looked at them frostily, while no longer armed he was certainly ready to finish the job. The wolves looked uncertain but finally one of them stepped forward, grabbing the deceased pack member by the scruff of its neck and dragging it away. The injured wolf limped after its pack and just like that they were gone.

As Percy felt them leave and was certain they wouldn't return he turned to Reyna with a huge grin,"Did you see that!" He asked excitedly, rushing forward and pulling her into a hug,"That was...that was real swell wasn't it?" A tiny laugh escaped him as Reyna hugged him back fiercely, happy to see her friend in such good spirits, and still stunned at how swiftly he had fought off the wolves.

A small chuckle escaped her at his language usage and she shook her head fondly,"That was swell indeed."

-Line Break-

"Dude...your eyes look...AWESOME!" Travis squealed, looking intently at his friend while Connor curiously traced the strange shade of white skin that was around his eyes. Percy huffed out a laugh while Hazel released a quiet sigh in relief, happy they weren't bombarding him with questions and making it awkward.

"I'm glad you like it."

Connor nodded in approval,"They give you a tough guy vibe. And the ladies love tough guys." He winked at Percy before remembering that the boy was blind,"...uh I winked at you. Just so you know." He chuckled nervously while Travis smacked him on the back of the head.

"Seriously bro?" He chided while Percy snorted before winking back at the son of Hermes.

Annabeth examined his eyes quizzically,"This really is fascinating...and you can still feel the earth's vibrations and know where we are? That's amazing!" She murmured, eyes widening at the amount of power that her friend wielded over the earth.

Percy hummed thoughtfully before shrugging,"It has its benefits...right now...Katie and Thalia are approaching us. Katie is...angry or excited, I can feel how her pulse has sped up. Thalia is calm, but I'm sure she'll have a lot of questions when she get's here."

Nico glanced at him the boy,"You're taking this better than I expected."

"I don't want to be babied. What happened happened." His voice came out a little harsher than he intended but he couldn't stress this enough. He could hold his own and he had proved that to the Romans. When he and Reyna had gotten back to Camp Jupiter she had told everyone the story of Percy fighting off the werewolves. If anything Percy had garnered even more respect on account of him fighting so well despite his disability.

The son of Hades placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly,"I understand."

Before Percy could thank him he felt another set of hands cup his face,"What did you do!" Katie's voice was thick with emotion as she looked at the boy's eyes, her thumbs reached up and traced the pale white skin that contrasted with his tan skin.

Percy smiled slightly at her before placing his hands on hers and pulling them away from his face,"Don't worry, I can still garden!" He assured her,"That apple tree is already doing so well and all I have to do is-"

"You think I care about that stupid apple tree!" She snapped angrily,"You're..."

"Blind."

Thalia took a step forward to grab Katie's arm,"Calm down, you're the only one making a big deal about this-"

"Actually Annabeth threw a fit too." Connor offered, yelping as the blonde smacked him on the back of the head.

"Shut it, Stoll." Travis snickered at the interaction while Katie looked at all of them incredulously.

"Calm down? Our friend has been blinded, Thalia! What is there to be calm about?" She turned back to Percy,"Who did this to you!" Percy stiffened which didn't go unnoticed by his girlfriend. She gently grabbed his hand and he squeezed it lightly in thanks.

Hazel turned to Katie to diffuse the situation,"It's a long story that we'll talk about later. Right now we just shouldn't make big deal about this-"

This only served to further agitate the daughter of Demeter as she looked at Hazel in disbelief,"How can you say that? He's your boyfriend and you act like you don't even care!" Hazel's eyes widened as unquenchable anger churned in her stomach. The daughter of Pluto took a threatening step forward so she was in the girl's face, amber eyes blazed with fury and her hands were balled into fists as she stared the girl down.

"I was there when it happened." She hissed,"I've been there for him since it happened." She was trembling with rage now,"I don't care how much you think you love Percy, if you value your life, you will never suggest I don't care about him." The once chatty group was now silent. Everyone except Percy had taken a step away from the two, he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck while focusing his gaze on his feet, knowing it was smarter for him to stay out of this.

Katie regained her bearings and glared back just as fiercely at Hazel,"Was that a threat?"

"I don't make threats."

Nico hesitantly made his way to his sister,"Hazel-"

She didn't bother turning to him as she kept her heated glare on Katie,"No! I'm not going to sit here while this dumb broad lectures me on how to care for my boyfriend." She sneered, eyes hardening as her hand rested on the hilt of her sheathed sword,"I've been with Percy for years, we always take care of each other, and we always will."

Hazel had been extremely on edge for the last couple of weeks what with Percy's blindness and how to act around him. They were both sorting out how to treat the situation and it had put a strain on their relationship. Of course, Percy had every right to be frustrated with how things were going, but that didn't deter Hazel from loving him. They've made it through difficult times and this was but another bump in the road for them.

And for Katie to blatantly disrespect her and question her credibility of being a good girlfriend was maddening. She had felt rather inaccurate as of late because she didn't know how to best comfort Percy, it was difficult to draw the line between comforting and coddling. It was bad enough that she had to walk on eggshells around Percy, and the last thing she needed was a lecture from some girl who was in love with her boyfriend.

"Hazel." Percy's voice jolted her out of her anger and she turned to him. He was fighting back a smile as he tugged her hand and pulled her away from the group, she let herself be dragged despite her annoyance with Katie, and didn't question him when he finally stopped her at the edge of the camp. He remained silent so Hazel looked out at the forest area, slightly anxious about Percy's reaction to the scene she just made.

She threatened to kill his friend and called her dumb and- "You know," He finally spoke, turning towards her and placing his hands on her hips,"you look real good when you're angry, babydoll." He hummed, smiling broadly as she laughed and loosely wrapped her arms around his neck.

"How would you know what I looked like, Mr. Jackson?" She teased, gently playing with the hair on the nape of his neck, causing him to lean even closer towards her.

He reached up and traced her face gently with his thumb, his smile only broadening as she leaned into his hand,"I'm hurt Miss Levesque, you act like I don't remember how lovely you are."

"Aren't you a charmer."

"Only for you."

This caused Hazel to laugh again as she pulled his face towards her,"Goof." And with that she pressed her lips against his.

-Line Break-

"Were the werewolves necessary?"

"They were a test...an easy one at that. I knew he would win."

"He was impressive."

"I know."

"When will you tell him?"

"About?"

"His vision."

"Never."

The titan clenched his jaw as he glowered at the woman,"That's not fair."

"I know." Her voice was soft and she looked at apologetically as she sighed,"You know I love you-"

"But you love Percy more."

She didn't respond to this, but then again, she didn't need to.

"Not surprised." There was no anger in his tone, just acceptance, and he didn't appear all to bothered by the information. He just stood there, leaning against the large tree, and stroking his grey beard thoughtfully.

Green eyes searched for his pleadingly,"He's a child."

"Then why'd you do it?"

The woman looked away from him as she spoke,"Japetus, for my plans to work...Percy needs to rely heavily on me. He needs to trust me-"

"Will he trust you when he finds out it was your orders that caused him to become blind? For him being your favorite son, you sure don't treat him very well." The titan snorted,"For a loving mother you really don't mind throwing your kids under the bus-"

"Silence!" Gaea snarled,"I made my son more powerful!"

"You took his vision!"

"Sacrifices must be made!" She snapped,"I love Percy and I will always take care of him. I'm his mother and I love him!" She repeated, her eyes becoming unfocused as she got lost in thought, fists clenched at her sides.

Japetus chuckled darkly at this,"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?"

The primordial was caught of guard with this question, and looked at her son slightly startled,"I...I..." She trailed off before shaking her head in disbelief and turning her back on the titan,"I don't know."

That's right hoes, another update! We out here, taking care of business!

PERCY'S BLINDNESS IS FIREFLAME789'S FAULT! EVERYONE FIGHT FIREFLAME!

Thank you: I respect you. I know it might seem weird, but it really does mean a lot when people recognize how horrible segregation was back then, because I have heard from a friends grandparent how bad it was, and they are black, so I respect u for making this story. I am also a fan of Percy/ Hazel too, and the idea is amazing as well. One of my favorite stories on this site.

Why shank ya. Yeah my grandma said they threw bricks at them when she was a kid and chased them out of their school. Shitty stuff but it's history and can't be changed. Prazel is supreme!

littleboyblack17: I feel sad that this hasn't been updated in a long time

Merry Christmas blackie chan

Guest: You lost me at "Aunt Jemima". Dear god, what has this world become?...

Aunt Jemima is every person's aunt regardless of color. She's the real one that bridged the racial divide :) well...Betty Crocker helped too but you know

Raxacoricofallapatoreous: Oh gods... My BABY!

Shit, Gaea is that you? I swear it's not what it looks like...because Percy can't see so it's literally not what it looks like...

Okay lovelies, first comment gets my number. THATS RIGHT! MY NUMBER: 11!

^ I wrote this same thing on my Broken story cuz I'm not original. Alrighty, I'm on an update roll and I've missed this so much!