Percy head felt like it was in a blender.
Mind you, that wasn't necessarily from the realization that Astrid had just dropped on his lap, or from the interaction her and her father were having. No, it was mostly from just how damn good those pancakes were.
He shoveled them into his mouth as he watched the father and daughter rye each other from across the counter. The tension was palpable, and thick enough to cut with a knife. Astrid stared, no, glared at her father, her already blue eyes taking on a more electric look as she did. Thor meanwhile was still shifting around like a nervous wreck. Percy watched the two, and could feel Zoe watching then as well over his shoulder.
"So, my daughter." Thor began, as he cleared his throat, "I see your restaurant is doing well."
Astrid didn't answer, she just stood there, hands in her hips with a scowl that looked foreign in such a kind face. "Why are you here?" She asked him.
Thor wrung his hands together, "I'm simply providing information to two heroes." He said, placing his thick hand on Percy's shoulder. "They're setting off, for a quest."
Astrid's glare sharpened and her lip twitched upward into a sneer. "This is about Ragnarok, isn't it?" she asked him.
He went pale, "Yes, this time-"
He was cut off by a laugh. "This time..." Astrid repeated in a mocking tone, "This time? Well what about last time, father?" She asked, venom dripping from her voice.
Thor leaned toward the table in a pose Percy could almost describe as sympathetic. Percy stopped eating, suddenly feeling a gnawing sense of interest in his chest.
Last time?
Astrid's glare was steely, and cold as ice. She crossed her arms, bearing down into the god. "You remember, and don't pretend you don't. You remember all those years ago, sending me up that mountain. So convinced that it was here, that the day was upon us." Her lip curled into a sneer, "I lost everything on that quest. My friends, my husband, nearly my life, and what met me when I got to the top?" She asked, her voice a bitter growl.
Thor didn't look her in the eye, or couldn't. His gaze was focused on the counter in front of him.
"Nothing." She spat, her voice nearly breaking, "Nothing was there, because you were wrong. Because you had misread the prophecy and sent me all that way, for what?" She asked him.
He raised his gaze, meeting hers with a look of such strong regret Percy thought the god might she'd a tear.
"For Asgard..." He managed out, before a sharp slap turned him away from Percy. Astrid held her hand, which probably didn't feel too good after slapping a god. She had tears in her eyes, clear as day, and she wasn't trying to hide them.
"Don't ever set foot in here again, do you understand me?" She told the old god. He stood up, his eyes wrought with guilt. He looked his daughter in the eye, pushing past the hate, pushing past the pain, pushing past everything, and gave her some final words.
"I'm sorry, daughter. I was wrong, and it ruined you. I know you can't forgive me, but... I still love you."
She looked away, the tears streaming down.
"Get out. Now." She said. He didn't need to be told again. As soon as he was out the door she turned back to Percy, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Sorry about all that." She said, forcing a smile and holding her hands up in a slight shrug. "I guess auntie Astrid's got a couple of secrets, huh?"
Percy looked up at her, unsure what to say. He wasn't really sure what to say, or if he could even get the words out if he did. All of that, that whole interaction felt so... familiar. To him, and Poseidon. The hate, the anger, the frustration he'd felt. The way it had eaten him up inside. The way it tainted who he was. He felt a bit of fear in him too. He hated seeing Astrid like this. Angry, full of hate, it partly scared him because it reminded him of himself. But what really scared him wasn't that he'd already been where she was, it was that he was going on a quest, the same quest that had made her this way. The quest had turned her the way he used to be, the way that he had only just yesterday made an effort to stop being. These thoughts ran through his mind, stalling any words he had in his throat. Luckily, Zoe was not in the same boat as him.
"That was incredible." Zoe said, a broad grin across her face. "I think Artemis might've fainted if she'd seen that."
Astrid blushed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh sweetie, you ain't seen nothing yet." She leaned forward, giving Zoe a knowing look. "You just let me know if deputy here royally screws up and I'll have his guts for guarders."
Zoe laughed at her words, giving Percy's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Will do." She said with a smile.
Percy gave Astrid a look, one he wasn't even sure the meaning of, though it sat somewhere between concern and curiosity.
"You went on a quest? To prevent Ragnarok?" He asked, his brow furrowed in thought.
Astrid nodded, cracking her knuckles. "You may not have known it, but I was quite the warrior when I wanted to be. I can't tell you how many draugr have fallen by a swing if my blade."
Percy let out a stifled laugh through a grin. "Now I see why no one's even tried to rob this place." He said, to which Astrid let out a smile.
"Well... that's mostly due to the Mossberg 500 I keep under the counter. I haven't held a blade in a long time." She admitted. Her gaze hardened as she looked Percy in the eye
"Percy. This quest, they're sure of it this time, right? Because, sweetheart, I cannot stress how much I don't want you walking up that mountain and having it be for nothing."
Percy felt his mouth draw back into a firm line. "I'm sure of it, and they are too. There's been a lot of mention of a great hound stirring."
Astrid shuddered at his words, "They never mentioned that when I went, and I'm glad they didn't." She glanced at him again, "Percy, this quest... it's not going to be easy. You should know that. I know you have experience, they've told me, and I suspected as much. But this... it's something else entirely."
Percy squeezed Zoe's hand back before leaning into the counter himself. "Astrid, the mountain, where we're going, I have to know. What's it like up there." He gestured towards his truck, "Because we've packed quite a few supplies and I don't want to end up on the mountain missing some important stuff."
Astrid nodded, before laying her hands over the counter, grasping Percy's open hand. "If you need supplies, deputy, then all you had to do was ask."
Astrid's house was so her it hurt.
She lived not too far from her diner, in a quaint one story bungalow, with lumber siding and a wood shingle roof. Her lawn was tidy, with flower beds covered in beautiful plants, and the walkway leading to her front door was a simple pathway of circular stones. It was a house Percy would have liked to have grown up in, one that was truly the essence of the word motherly.
They stepped into her house and Percy was hit by what could only described and an Astrid aesthetic avalanche. Her house was beautiful, a perfect representation of everything she was. Her living room was passionately decorated, with doilies over tables, and oak coffee table in the middle of the room, an old crt box tv against the wall and a couch with a flower print so heinous Percy couldn't help but smile. The walls were painted a soft beige color and there were photos on the wall, photos of dozens of people. Quite a few were people Percy recognized, Astrid's children who often came into the restaurant early in the morning or wandered through town with their families, but there was one man he didn't quite recognize who was in many of the pictures.
Astrid led them across the house to the kitchen that faced her back yard. The kitchen, somehow, made Percy nostalgic for a place he knew he'd never known. Her kitchen equipment was ancient, but surprisingly clean, with solid oak counters and a dark clay tile floor. Percy couldn't help but notice something in the kitchen that perked him right up. A tray of cookies, that smelled so good he very well may have floated over to them. He turned to Astrid with a look in his eye that made her think he hadn't eaten in days.
"May I?" He asked her.
She smiled, "You may have one. They're for my grandchildren, mister."
Percy frowned before turning to the tray and grabbing the biggest one he could, splitting it in half and handing one of the halves to Zoe, who took it with a smile. They followed Astrid as she led them outside into her back yard, and over to a set of storm cellar doors against her house. Astrid had a look in her eye, one that Percy couldn't quite read. It looked somewhere between fear, regret, and nervousness.
She swallowed deeply and reached into her sweater, pulling out a key that she had on a necklace. She hefted the giant lock in the cellar and cracked it open, tossing it to the side as she threw open the doors. She turned to Percy and Zoe with a firm look on her face.
"Well? Come on you two." With that, she headed down the stairs with Percy and Zoe closely following.
They got to the bottom and, in the faint glow from the stairwell, Percy could see Astrid reach up for a light switch. She pulled it and several bulbs lit up, showing Percy a room he could not have predicted would be in this house in a million years.
It was a weapons room, and a full one at that.
Percy stood there, mouth slightly agape, as he ran his eyes along the walls of the room. There were racks upon racks along the cellar, each filled to the brim with every weapon he could imagine. Swords, spears, bows and filled quivers of arrows, battle axes, hatchets, belts of throwing knives. But it wasn't limited to classical weaponry. She also had shotguns, lots of them, and revolvers, almost as many. They laid on the shelves of the basement, with boxes upon boxes of ammo sitting near them. Percy looked around in stunned silence, taking in the amazing collection that surrounded him, only being brought out of his stupor when his eyes drifted over a cannon in the corner.
"Well." Percy said, clapping his hands, "This is not what I imagined I'd see if I ever came here."
Astrid let out a gentle laugh, as she ran her hands over the shelves. "Yes, though it's been a while since my last... outing, I've never really been able to bring myself to get rid of any of this." She picked up a battle axe, hefting it with a surprising amount of ease. "I guess you could call me somewhat of a... collector."
Percy let out a laugh as he watched her give the axe a spin before putting it back on the shelf. Zoe, who'd been in an equally stunned state, had taken the opportunity to rush over to the rows of arrows on the walls, pulling a couple out and examining their build.
Percy did a little spin around the room, letting out a soft whistle as he did. He walked over to a shelf, picking up a rather brutal looking morning star as he did. He ran his thumb over the metal ball that hung off the weapon.
"This isn't celestial bronze." He said, as he put the weapon back down, "What is it? Some other crazy rare, crazy unique, crazy magical metal?"
Astrid let out a laugh, "Hardly." She said, "It's silver, simple silver, Asgardian by name but that's just so they can brag." She picked up a sword off the wall, a long and rather hefty looking claymore, gently waving it about in her hands.
"Most of our weapons, Asgardian that is, are made of silver. We found out eons ago that's it's the only metal that'll really take anything out. Mortal or otherwise." She said, a dangerous glint in her eye.
Percy let out a sigh as he fished Anaklusmos out of his pocket and uncapped it, the blade springing open in his hand. He turned to Astrid, showing off the blade as he did.
"So I'm guessing this won't do me much good up there, then?" He asked her. She shrugged.
"If it's all you've got I wouldn't just lay down and let em kill you. That being said..." She flipped the sword around, holding the flat of the blade in on her palms, "... you'd be wise to take whatever you want."
Percy let out a smile as he took the sword from her hands. It has beautiful, a strikingly smooth strip of polished steel that stretched out at least 4 feet long with a thick grip, made for 2 hands, and a a second hilt above the first. It wasn't his style though, he knew the second he held it, and hefted it awkwardly with a frown. Astrid noted his expression and took it from his hands, setting it back down on the shelf.
"I'm guessing you aren't used to having a sword at your side, and more having it in your pocket, eh?" She asked him. He nodded sheepishly, running his hand over his pocket.
"Truth be told I haven't worn a sheath since I was 12." He told her. "And I'm not too sure it'll go with my hat." He said.
She nodded, a thoughtful look across her face, before she reached into her pocket and pulled something out.
It was a lighter. A classic zippo style lighter made out of polished silver. It was ornate, too, with Celtic knot prints covering the base and lid. It looked old, very old, with what appeared to be hand made hinges and hammer forged parts. She gently held his hand, pressing the lighter into his grip. He gripped it, getting an idea of what was about to happen in his head.
"I'm gonna light this and something weirds gonna happen, right?" He asked he with a cocked eyebrow. She shrugged with a smile.
"Why don't you find out?"
He took a deep breath and flicked open the lighter, before striking the flint. The lighter immediately changed shape, morphing into a long, ornate blade. The sword was light, surprisingly so considering it was a good half foot longer than riptide. He hefted the blade, inspecting it's details.
The thing looked massive, not just in size, but in detailing. It had a nice, manageable grip, with a strap of leather tightly wrapped around it. The pommel was beautiful, an ornate mold of a wolf's head facing downward. The hand guard was wide, and thick, essentially two cast pieces of silver that stuck out a good three inches on either side of the blade. The blade itself was beautiful, a long strip of silver, forged into a sharp blade. It was the same width the entire length, tapering off sharply at the end. Along the blade on either side was a deep and wide groove that ran the length of the blade, in the groove sat what Percy assumed was Nordic letters.
He swung the blade about, feeling it's weight and it's length. It felt... right in his hand. The same way Anaklusmos had felt when he'd first held it. Like the blade had been waiting for him.
"It's name is Moskstraumen." Astrid said, bringing him out of his daze, "Nordic for Maelstrom. It's an Ulfberht, a classic viking blade." She told him, her eyes wandered over the sword as she spoke. "It... served me well, when I needed it. It protected me, and now it will protect you too." She looked Percy in the eye, a look that made him almost regret just about everything he was doing. "I can't condone what you're doing, Percy. I've seen too many a people march up that mountain, only to never return. But hopefully Moskstraumen will serve you well."
He looked her in the eye, watching how her gaze wandered off in thought. "Astrid, that man in your photographs, he was your husband wasn't he?"
She nodded, her lips drawn back. "His name was Johann. He went with me, when I was tasked to stop the great ending. He... he never made it. He gave his life to save mine." Her voice got right at the end, as if she was holding back tears. She looked over at Zoe, then at Percy.
"My greatest fear Percy, right now, is that the same thing that happened to me will happen to you. That you'll be filled with the same hate I was if you suffer how I did."
Percy felt his throat tighten. He wanted to tell her that he understood her pain, that he knew how she felt, that he too had gone through what she had. But he couldn't. She'd never let him leave if he did. He instead drew his lips into a comforting smile, and nodded to her.
"That won't happen, auntie. I promise."
She gave him a sharp nod, never breaking eye contact. The way a warrior would, a voice in the back of his mind said. He turned back to the sword and let out a grin. He looked at Astrid with a look that conveyed a tenderness his words could never hope to achieve. "Astrid, thank you. This sword, it's... it's beautiful, and perfect." He said, running his hand along the flat of the blade.
She smiled, and reached over, grabbing one of the lengths of the handguard and flipping it towards the blade, the piece immediately shifting in her grasp, and turning the sword back into a lighter.
"It'll only do that if an owner of the blade wants it to, so don't worry about trying to defend yourself and having nothing but a zippo in your hands."
Percy smiled and tucked the lighter into his back pocket. "I'm guessing that it's magic? So..."
"...So it'll always return to you." Astrid replied with a smirk, "Yes Percy, I'm aware of your blade's magic," She turned over to Zoe, "And I'm aware of who taught us those returning weapon spells all those years ago."
Zoe gave Astrid a knowing look, and gave a slight smile to Percy with a slight jiggle of her eyebrows before she turned her focus from her arrows over to a belt of knives that seemed to be calling her name.
Percy cracked his knuckles, before he cleared his throat. "Auntie, I've got a bit of a request." He said.
"Shoot." She replied.
"I've got some idea of the people from the Greek side of the country who are coming, they'll need some weapons too." He said, she let out a grin and held up her hands.
"Consider this room your personal armory." She told him.
He nodded with a smile before meeting her eyes, his taking on a look of thought as he leaned into Astrid and started describing a weapon he knew he'd need, the only weapon he knew she'd want, the only one she'd be comfortable with. The weapon he knew he'd need because, despite his best efforts, he knew she was coming.
A visit to Astrid's home hadn't been all business, to be fair. They spent a few hours there letting Astrid pour out every bit of motherly intuition she had. They sat in her living room, cups of tea in their hands as they discussed various topics. How work was going, Astrid and Freya's relationship (a surprisingly strong one, with Astrid often referring to her as her sister), if Percy's truck had been taken into the shop recently.
The conversation wasted no time, however, getting to Zoe and Percy.
"So." Astrid began, sipping her tea while leaning back cross legged into her easy chair, "How on earth did this start, deputy?"
Percy let out a nervous chuckle, running his hand over his knee. His other arm was clutched firmly in Zoe's grasp, who'd taken her seat right next to him on Astrid's couch. "Well..." He began, "We met a long time ago, way before either of us ended up here."
Zoe nodded, "I was... different back then. Not nearly as open to this kind of... companionship as I am now."
Percy gave her hand a squeeze, "I was, however, able to charm her with my film taste, though." He said, his lips drawing into a slight grin, "...and my culinary skills."
Astrid's eyebrows raised at his latter statement. "Culinary skills?"
Percy nodded, leaning back into the seat. "I may or may not have been hiding a secret talent of mine from you for some time." He said in a playful tone.
Astrid scrunched her face into a mock frown. "And why would you have done that?"
He shrugged, "I didn't want to risk losing pancake privileges."
Astrid shook her head, before looking at Zoe. "For you to put up with this he must be quite something in your, ah... private times."
Zoe's face immediately went crimson, and Percy's did the same, drawing a laugh from Astrid. "Oh I kid, I kid." She said as Percy and Zoe bother eased into their seats. "But really, Percy, we both know about your aversion to dating, what changed."
"Well..." Percy said, running his thumb over Zoe's hand and looking her in the eye, "She's... different. When I'm with her I don't feel like I'm anyone other than myself. I feel like I can be me, the true me, and not be scared of what she'll think." He said. He didn't break eye contact with Zoe, not even after he'd finished speaking.
"You're bringing a tear to my eye, deputy." Astrid said, before turning to Zoe. "You're a very lucky girl, you know."
Zoe smiled, "Oh I know." She said, laying her head on Percy's shoulder. "Do I ever know."
The drive home was quiet, as it usually was with them. Zoe leaned back in her seat, examining one of the arrows she'd gotten from Astrid, while Percy drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of his truck, seemingly in good spirits. He had been stealing glances at Zoe as she sat in his passenger seat, admittedly a little transfixed on her face as she carefully examined the arrow in her hands. Her bow, the one Skadi had gifted her, also sat along her legs. Percy cleared his throat.
"So..." He began, a slight smile pulling at his lips, "...girlfriend."
Her eyes perked up and she shot him a side eye, a smile drawing at the corners of her own mouth. "Yes... boyfriend?" She answered, working through the word as if it were a foreign language.
He let his grin grow into a smile, "Nothing," He replied, before shooting her a warm smile, "I just like saying that."
She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" She asked him.
"More than you could ever imagine." He replied. His fingers lightly tapped against his steering wheel as he clicked his teeth.
"Y'know, I gotta ask." He said, his brow furrowing slightly, "When did you start liking me?"
She sighed and let her head drop a bit. "You are unbelievable..." she said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I think it was that time you walked in on me in the shower." She said, feeling her cheeks redden at the memory.
He raised his eyebrows. "Really?" He asked.
She nodded, gazing at the dashboard. "You were just so... so... polite about it." She said, turning towards him. "I didn't think any man was capable of that until then." She admitted.
He pursed his lips, nodding at her words, "I think I know when I started liking you." He said.
She looked at him, squinting slightly with her eyebrows raised, "Oh really?" She asked him.
"Mhm." He said, nodding slowly, "It's when you agreed to watch Monty Python with me." He said, his smile drawing across his face again.
She groaned and put her head in her hands. "Are you serious?" She asked.
He gave her a look, "I am. I've never met any girl willing to watch that with me." He said, "Nobody, not even..."
He drifted off, and she turned to look at him, feeling the hurt work into his voice. She reached over, lightly holding his arm.
"Percy..." She asked, her voice hesitant, but as supportive as she could make it, "... do you want to talk about it."
He felt his expression soften a bit. "I don't think you want to." He said, with a soft smile.
She gave his arm a reaffirming squeeze before she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. He felt his cheek heat up right where she'd kissed him and he looked at her with a fiery look in his eyes. He turned back to the road and took a shaky breath.
"I talked to her, when I was at camp Zoe." He said, his eyes still focused on the road, "We finally... I don't know, worked it out? We fought, screamed at each other, we let it all out, or I did at least. I didn't really want to hear what she had to say, So I tried to walk out on her, and, well..." He felt his eyes blink, taking a deep breath before he spoke again, "... she kissed me."
Zoe froze when he said that, unable to speak. She felt her chest tighten and her breath get stuck in her throat as she felt a strong pang of anger go through her body.
No, not anger. Jealousy.
It was a foreign emotion to her, one she hadn't felt before, and it hit her like a truck, sucking the air out of her lungs. She couldn't help but picture her pushing him against a wall, pressing her lips against his, him too frozen in fear and pain to do anything but let it happen. How could Annabeth do that to him?
It hurt Zoe a lot thinking about that, but it made her realize something, realize there was something she should've asked him a long time ago.
"Percy?" She asked, her voice barely disguising the hurt she felt, "What did Annabeth do to you? All those years ago?"
He was quiet. He didn't talk, didn't move, his fingers tightly clenching the steering wheel.
His breath got heavy and his eyes got dark. He let out a sigh, slowing the truck down and pulling over to the side of the road. He put it in park and turned off the truck, sitting in silence as the soft sound of raindrops reverberated off of the roof of the car. He leaned back in his seat, eyes pointing straight ahead, his face just about unreadable in the darkness of the car, barely illuminated by the streetlight in the distance.
He looked over at her, his eyes glazed over. He looked beaten down, broken, like the act of just remembering what had happened had taken years off his life. Zoe felt regret, like she'd pushed too far or asked too much. She felt like she'd over stepped, oh who was she kidding, she had. They been dating if you could even call it that for, what, a few days? How was it her right to ask these things?
"Percy..." She said, her voice gentle, and full of love, "I'm sorry, we don't have to if you don't want to..."
"It's okay." He said, steeling his gaze, "I want to tell you."
She looked at him, running her thumb over his hand as she gave him a nod, her eyes pulled into a caring look. He took a deep breath and turned toward windshield.
"Well..." He began, "it all started when I got my memories back, at the Roman camp." He took a deep breath through his nose. "I had remembered by then everything that had happened. My mom dying. How little time I'd had to even... cope with it. I remembered everything and I just... just hated it all." He said, with bitterness in his voice. "I went along with the quest, trying to act like the old me, trying to care about it all, but I just couldn't." His free hand reached up and tightly squeezed the steering wheel, the fabric squeaking as he did.
"There was a night, a little into the quest on the Argo II, where I just... I couldn't deal with it anymore. Not any of it. I had to talk, to her." He said, his voice breaking a bit. "I went to her room, and knocked on her door, and she opened it for
me, and let me in." He said, his eyes floating over to Zoe. She hadn't looked away, not even for a second, her hand still tightly gripping his.
He turned back forward. "I sat her down and I told her, I'm done, I'm done with it all. With the quests, everything. After this I'm leaving and I want you to come. She didn't understand, she was confused. She wanted to know why I couldn't stay at camp so I told her. I told her I hated how it had killed my mom, I told her that I blamed the gods for it. I told her I didn't want this anymore."
He tightened his eyes shut. "She didn't like that. She told me she couldn't leave and I asked her why not. She told me it was her home, her family. I asked her if I was her family, and she said it wasn't the same. I didn't understand. We started yelling and she told me to leave."
His hand, the one Zoe had been holding, had begun to shake at some point. She squeezed it tighter, placing her other hand on his bicep.
"Percy?" She asked him, he held up his hand.
"I'm okay, just... I'm okay." He took a shaky breath.
"It wasn't too long after that that we fell into the pit. I remember it all the time, Zoe. Every day I do. The pain, the heat, the agony. It's all just burned into my brain." He ran his hand along the steering wheel, feeling the texture rub against his palm.
"It wasn't too long that we were in the pit before we ran into... him." He said, his voice taking a dark note. "Kronos. Barely formed and barely real, but there nonetheless, and still..." He closed his eyes, gritting his jaw, before he opened them again "...still in Luke's image. Annabeth had seen him first. We were both delirious, practically hallucinating. We had drank from one of the rivers in Tartarus, and it... did something to us, made us want our deepest desires. I remember thinking about nothing but protecting Annabeth, she..." he drawled off as he looked out the windshield, his eyes getting dark again, "She had other desires."
He felt Zoe give his hand another squeeze. She had taken her seatbelt off at this point, and had gotten up close to him, resting her head on his shoulder trying to comfort him as he spoke.
"They captured us, and damn easy too. Almost like... like she wanted them to." He said, the words coming out bitter through his gritted jaw. "They tortured me, beat me, gave me most of these scars." He said, gesturing to his body. "But, that's not how they hurt me. Annabeth, she... she didn't know who she was looking at, didn't know it was Kronos. She thought it was Luke. They..." his voice stopped, frozen in his throat. He had to take a deep breath and give Zoe's hand a reassuring squeeze before he continued. "They... did things in front of me, made me watch too." He brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to hold back tears. "I don't remember how I got out, but I did. Got her too, despite how much... she wanted to stay with him."
He leaned back into his seat, staring out the window. "We somehow got out, shut the doors of death. We started heading off to the final battle and I was just wasn't there, not in any way. I'd started making plans pretty immediately to leave, to get out. This was the last quest I was ever going to do. Annabeth tried to talk to me, to apologize, to fix things. But every time she did I just threw it in her face. I just wanted to be alone, for the rest of my life, and never see another Greek god or demigod again."
He drummed his fingers on his steering wheel as Zoe stared out his windshield, head still on his shoulder, listening intently to every word he said. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, to let him know that she was still here. He let out a soft smile, but it fell when he spoke again.
"Then the battle came. It was long, so damn long, and it never really felt like we were winning or losing. It was just waves of Romans and waves of Greeks trampling into the giants. I remembered a cliff, I remembered Annabeth, I remembered a giant sneaking up on her, a sword in it's grip..." His voice trailed off as a single tear dripped from his eye, "... I remember jumping in front of it, and it driving through my stomach." He let out a grim, soft laugh, "I remember thinking at least now there'll be no more quests as I fell off the cliff to the water below. Then there was nothing, and nothing, until..." He turned to Zoe, "...until I saw you. Your face, glaring at me on the beach by the dock as I spat blood out of my mouth and felt around my stomach for any wounds." Percy settled into his seat. Finally, he couldn't help but think to himself.
He was silent for a moment, completely silent, before his body shook slightly. Zoe looked up at him, and found tears streaming down his cheeks. He shook slightly as he cried, desperately trying to hold back the sobs that threatened to break free from his jaw.
She reached across his chest and pulled him into a hug, the biggest one she could, nestling her face in the crook of his neck as she felt her own tears well in her eyes. She felt his hands come up, tracing their way up to his cheeks as he pulled her face away slightly and stared into her eyes, her deep, onyx, beautiful eyes. She stared back, feeling herself get lost in his gaze. His gaze that held so much more meaning, his gaze that made so much more sense, his gaze that she should've been paying attention to years ago...
"Percy..." She said, her voice a choking sob. She tried to find the words, the words that would say everything, everything she needed to say, everything that would make this better, everything that would take his pain away. She couldn't find them, but he did.
"I love you Zoe."
It sucked the life right out of her. She froze, her head couldn't think, couldn't form words. Her mind felt like it had just been dropped off a cliff right alongside her heart. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, so he spoke for her.
"I'm sorry." He said, his gaze boring into her, " I know this is early, maybe too early, but I can't go on any longer without saying it. I love you Zoe, I've loved you for years now and I can't pretend I don't. I don't care about this quest or my past or anything else. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what I have to do."
He stopped talking and felt the sudden realization of what he'd done hit him like a wrecking ball. He'd done it. He'd gone and done the exact thing he had asked her not to let him do, and he'd done it. He'd ruined this. Just like Icarus flying too close to the sun he'd just gone and held his heart over her, dumping it out over her head. How could he be so stupid, god's, how could he-
He was cut off when she pulled him into a kiss.
It was different that the other ones. It was hungry, aggressive, passionate. She opened her mouth and pushed her tongue against his, swirling in his mouth as she buried her hands in his hair, pulling him as close as she could. She ran her hands up his cheeks, pulling away slightly if only to take a breath, before pressing her lips back against his, intend on sucking as much air out of his body as she could. She pulled away again, this time holding his head in place as she looked him in the eye, a smile growing as she blinked tears out of her eyes.
"I can't tell you how bad I've wanted to hear that, Jackson." She said. She let out a laugh, a soft sound as she ran her hands across his cheeks. "I don't know why I ever waited." She said, tears still falling as she spoke, "I don't know why I ever lied to myself, why I ever tried convincing myself this wasn't what I wanted. Why I held onto a bitter lie when this truth was all I ever needed to make this place stop feeling like a prison." She pressed her face into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I love you Percy. I always have and I always will. I want this life, this mortal life, to continue and end with you by my side, no matter what."
They sat there a moment, holding each other, feeling each other's chests rise and fall as they took in the feeling that they felt.
Love. And damn, did it ever feel good.
After a while of sitting there, Percy cleared his throat, running his hands over Zoe's back.
"So." he said, his voice still a little hoarse from the crying.
"So." She replied, a smile spreading across her face as she laid across his chest.
"Would you like to spend the night again?" He asked, she looked up at him with a playful smile.
"Depends, Jackson." She said, her hands running across his cheek, "Will I be getting one of your amazing dinners tonight?"
He leaned back into his seat with a laugh. "I am going to cook you so many fucking dinners, Zoe Nightshade." He replied.
She laughed all her own and rose of his chest, leaning in to give him another kiss. Not another eat-off-your-face kiss, but a soft one that made his heart flutter. She leaned back into her seat and fastened her seat belt.
"Let's get going then. It just about dinner time and I'm starving... darling." She added with a sly grin.
He smiled all the same as he turned his truck back on. "I'll make sure we have all the ingredients we need... Honey."
They got to his house as the sun was going down. He pulled up his driveway, admittedly just about shaking with... well he wasn't sure what, honestly. Probably a mix of love and happiness and relief and love and joy and love and love and love...
He was pulled from his thoughts when Zoey unbuckled his seatbelt for him, he turned to her and found her giving him a sly grin.
"Sorry." She said, "You just seemed a little... distracted."
He stared at her, letting a smile cross his face. "Well, at this moment in time I'm pretty distracted from anything that's not you." He replied, she let out a laugh, before her look changed, to one he could really only describe as dangerously flirtatious as she leaned into his ear.
"You get inside, Jackson, and I'll show you some distractions."
He felt his heart do a front flip in his chest as he quickly opened his door and hopped out of his truck, jogging around to her door to open it for her. She let out a laugh as she hopped out, firmly grasping his hand as he led her to his front door. He rustled his keys, struggling to find the right one as he silently cursed them out.
"Need me to pick it again?" She asked from over his shoulder.
"No..." He grumbled, before adding, "...maybe."
He let out a whoop as he found the right key, holding it over his head like a prize, drawing a laugh from Zoe, before he unlocked the door and they both stepped inside. He tossed his coat on his rack, as she did the same, taking a step forward before her firm grip drew him back.
"Where do you think you're going?" She asked him as she pulled him back into another kiss. He broke free and gestured to the kitchen.
"Making you a romantic dinner, of course." He said, before putting his hands on his hips, "Unless you want me to heat up some leftovers..."
She shot him a dangerous look, before running her hand across his cheek. "How about you cook dinner, and I'll..." She leaned in on her tippy toes to talk right into his ear, "...slip into something a little more comfortable."
His heart threatened to break his ribs at her words. He looked her in the eye and nodded profusely as she let out a laugh and walked over to his bedroom.
He practically sprinted to his kitchen, pulling his fridge open and sifting through his ingredients, debating what to make. What should he make.
What should he make? What should he make? Oh gods, why is this so hard now? He thought to himself. Chicken? Too basic. Venison? Already done to death. Salad? She's a hunter, Jackson, why would she want salad? He racked his brain trying to think of something, something romantic, something fast, something everyone liked.
His head snapped up and his lips drew into a grin.
Spaghetti. Italian food, the most romantic food there was. Damn, Jackson. You're a genius sometimes, he couldn't help but think to himself. His grin grew to a smile as he grabbed pasta sauce, oregano, and garlic from his fridge and spice rack and grabbed pasta from his pantry cupboard.
He grabbed a couple pots from his cupboard and plopped them on this stove, filling one up with water while he put sauce and the ingredients in the other. He pulled out a bushel of spaghetti, snapping them in half before he dropped them in the pot and snapped his fingers, bringing the water to a boil in an instant. He stirred both pots, trying to cook his food as quickly as he could.
While the two pots stewed on the stove he grabbed a brick of cheese from his fridge, quickly grating a mountain of it before he turned off his stove. He grabbed a colander and drained the spaghetti, grabbing two bowls and cutlery from his cabinet as he did, and quickly scooping pasta, sauce and cheese into them before stopping for a moment, taking a deep breath.
He was exhausted. That was probably the fastest he'd ever cooked anything in his life. He took a deep breath, hefted the bowls, and turned around.
Only to find Zoe standing by the entrance of the kitchen, a wicked smile across her face. She was dressed in his sweater, the oversized one that she always wore, and... what must've just been the tightest pair of short shorts on the planet.
He froze, his jaw opening slightly as he took in her admittedly adorable outfit, before he gestured at her with the bowls.
"How long have you been there?" He asked, raising a nervous eyebrow.
She brought her hand up, running it along her neck. "Long enough." She answered.
He shook his head with a laugh, before he held the bowls up higher. "Like spaghetti?" He asked, setting the bowls down on the table. She smiled and crossed the room, her just-about-bare legs drawing Percy's gaze with every step she took. She leaned in and whispered into his ear.
"Depends, are we gonna eat it lady and the tramp style?"
He swallowed a lump in his throat and gave her a nervous laugh. "I take it that's a hint we'll be watching Disney movies tonight?"
She grinned, "Yes it does." She said, before pressing a finger to his lips, "But I get to pick this time."
He nodded as she pulled her hand away and they sat at the table. They ate in relative silence, which was normal considering Percy's amazing cooking didn't leave much time for anything other than eating. Of course, under the table, Zoe made certain their meal wasn't completely without some romance, as she spent most of their dinner poking and prodding his thigh with her foot and laughing at the faces he made every time she did.
They finished their food and Percy dumped the bowls in the sink, barely getting a chance to turn around before Zoe had her body against him and her lips pressed against his again. He smiled as she did, letting his hands run up under the sweater and feeling that she, once again, didn't have anything on under. He pressed his hands against her back as she grabbed his collar, guiding him into the living room before throwing him on the couch. He landed with a grunt as she walked over to his TV and popped a disc into his DVD player. He felt a smile across his lips as the movie started to play.
"How did you know I liked beauty and the beast?" He asked her. She shot him a look.
"I didn't. This does happen to be one of my favorites, though." she said, as she laid down on the couch, resting her head on his chest. He gave her a look.
"You like beauty and the beast?" He asked.
"I love beauty and the beast." She corrected. "There's something about how... strong Belle is. The way she chooses the least likely of lovers, and understands his pain. It's romantic, and I just so happened to have gained a brand new appreciation for romance." she said. Percy thought about her words for a moment, before she brought him back to reality, "Also, I might replay Gaston's death a few times." She added.
He let out a chuckle, "I suspected as much."
She smiled and pressed into his chest.
The movie was lovely, it always had been, ever since Percy had watched it as a kid with his mom. He enjoyed every moment of it, especially the songs which he insisted on singing along to, despite Zoe's groans and how deep she buried her head in his chest every time he did. The movie went on, it had ups, and downs, and Percy couldn't help but feel his heart clench a bit when the beast "died", and Zoe perked up when belle professed her love to the beast, saving his life. They both had tears in their eyes at the end.
Zoe sat up as the credits rolled and looked Percy in the eye. "So... I'm guessing you enjoyed it then?" She asked. He nodded, rather intensely, wiping a fake tear from his eye.
"I bloody love that movie." He said, with her letting out a soft giggle at his reaction. He looked at her with a fake hurt expression.
"Hey, don't make fun of me." He said, "it's a beautiful story."
"It is." She said, "Woman meets man, man has problems, and secrets."
Percy turned to her, a serious look in his eye, "Man shares secrets, woman accepts them."
Zoe stared into his eyes, letting her hand rub on his cheek. "Woman and man fall in love."
They stared at each other for a moment, a tense and agonizing moment, before they pressed their lips together.
She pushed on top of him, throwing her legs on either side just like she'd done... jeez the night before. Oh screw it, she told herself, I'm sick of being guilty about this. She pulled him in deeper, letting her hands trace all over his face as they went down to his chest. He let his own hands roam, feeling up the length of her back along her bare skin. She shivered at his touch, pulling away so she could trace kisses along his jaw, before she focused on a spot on his neck, recalling the hickey he'd given her the night before.
Revenge time, she devilishly thought to herself as she lightly bit on his neck. He moaned, pretty loudly too, as she sucked on his neck, her fingernails lightly digging into his chest as she did. She pulled away after a minute and admired her handiwork, a big red mark on his neck.
"There." she said, pointing to her own mark, "Now we match."
He let out a breath, throwing his arms out to either side. "I love you." He said in an exasperated voice, before he closed his eyes and smiled, "And it feels so, so good to say that." He said.
She laughed and grabbed his collar, pulling him into a nother kiss. She felt like she could stay this way forever, sitting in his lap, planting kisses on him, playfully commenting on each other. She felt like nothing could possibly ruin this moment they were having.
So of course something did.
A flash suddenly illuminated the room, making Zoe pull away. She turned over her shoulder and felt her heart drop at what she saw. Three figures stood in the room with them. The first was Artemis, who's arms were crossed and had an eyebrow cocked slightly in the pairs direction.
The second was a latino boy, slender and elfish, with messy brown hair and onyx eyes who was grinning a completely shit-eating grin at Percy from across the room.
As far as Zoe was concerned though, they may as not even exist. It was the third figure that really stood out, that really made Zoe's heart pound with anger and her fists unintentionally clench with rage and made her all the more comfortable in Percy's lap.
It was Annabeth, Annabeth Chase. Standing there with her hair up in a bun in jeans and her orange t-shirt and with her fist white knuckling around the hilt of her sheathed dagger as she glared at Zoe from across the room.
Percy peeked around them, trying his best to avoid Annabeth's eyes as he looked at Artemis and quietly mumbled out a greeting.
"So I'm guessing you're here for the quest."
I know, I'm a compete bastard. Ending the chapter right there? Right when things were getting good? Don't worry though, I'm already cooking up the next one.
This week was a bit of an exception content-wise. I put out three chapters, two this weekend, and as much as I love writing I also love going hiking with my girl. I don't want to set any firm schedule for the story but let's just say you can usually expect one chapter written through the week, and one chapter written on the weekend.
Or who knows? Maybe I'll get an epiphany and you'll get 50 thousand words in one day. After all, I'm full of surprises ;)
-Bronzeandsteel
P.s. sorry if there typos in my work. I've got minor dyslexia (I know, ironic for a pjo fan) and weird algorithmic o.c.d. and that combo really makes me rely on my phone's autocorrect for spelling. If you see any... egregious ones though? Let me know in reviews or dms