So here's something a little different. This is a series of interconnected one-shots that I've been working on, set in an AU version of the Percy Jackson universe and not focusing on any of the major characters (though they are still mentioned). This first chapter is a little different, but the flashback scene leads into the rest of the series (which will eventually catch up to where the characters are by this point). Let me know what you think, and I'll post the rest as well (I have 9 chapters ready to post, 8 if you don't count this one). Anyway, let's get into it.

Disclaimer - I don't own the stuff you recognize.

"Remind me again, Tobias. How on earth did we meet?" the red-haired woman queried, her emerald-green eyes sparkling as they met the firm, sapphire-blue, gaze of her fiancée, who sat on the other side of the table from her, and as she took another sip of her champagne.
Tobias smiled slightly as she spoke, his voice as calm as always when he replied. "Forgotten the day that a certain handsome Homicide detective saved your life, Miss Osborne? A day I believe that you, at least twice, referred to as 'the best day of your life'?"
His blue eyes sparkled humorously, reminding her that there was no real hurt in his accusation. He was right, it had been the best day of her life. And so what if she wanted to hear it again every once in a while? She shrugged in response. "Not at all. I'm just particularly fond of the story it started, is all".
Tobias smiled back at her. "Me too, Monica. Me too".
~Late September, 2011~
-Monica-
Monica looked up as the knife-wielding man, who was at least twice her age, approached her where she sat crouched against the alleyway wall, her fear obvious in her deep green eyes. "Leave me alone! Please, I'll never mention this to anyone I know, I swear it!"
In response, the man merely spat, and it became obvious from his breath when he next spoke that he had obviously had a lot to drink that night (in fact, how he was still able to speak in cohesive sentences was completely beyond her). "Just shut the hell up. Quit your goddamned crying, hand over everything of value you have on you, and maybe, just maybe, I'll let you go without hurting you too badly…"
Now more than just scared, she hurriedly unclasped her late grandfather's watch from her right arm and removed the sapphire pendant (a gift from her mother on her 21st) from around her neck, placing them on the ground between her and the armed man. Clearly unsatisfied, the man gestured with the knife in his right hand. "Hand over the bag too. Now!" he ordered.
"But… Look, I'm just a student, I don't know if there's anything that would be worth your while in there" she protested.
He scowled. "I don't care what you think is worth my while. I know what I want and unless you want to pay in a different way, then you'll hand it over!"
That was when a young man about five months older than her stepped into the alleyway behind the knife-wielding man. "Men as drunk as you seem to be shouldn't be playing with knives. You might hurt yourself" the newcomer said calmly, though Monica was unable to tell whether this calmness was the result of pure cockiness, or some kind of rapid assessment of the situation.
She did hope that it was the latter though. After all, the last thing she needed on her conscience was the knowledge that some cocky idiot had gotten himself injured, or even killed, in a misguided attempt at being a hero. "Stay out of this, kid! This doesn't concern you!" the mugger warned.
"You have no idea how wrong you are. Let's just say that what you're doing right here, right now, concerns me a hell of a lot. And I'm not going to let you get away with it" came the response.
The stranger took a step sideways, towards her, and Monica could clearly see that there was a gun in his right hand. He concealed it from the view of the man who had been trying to rob her by holding his arm down by the side, against his brown jacket, but she could clearly see it from where she sat. As she watched his every movement, he started speaking again, and she found herself, somehow, hanging on his every single word. "Look, I'm willing to let you go. I'll pretend I saw nothing here, and you can go do whatever it is you do when you're this drunk. Just let the girl have her stuff back, and allow her to walk away. Nobody has to get hurt" he reasoned.
This was responded to with a cold laugh. "Hah! And what if I don't agree to your terms? Then what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to force you to listen" the younger of the two men responded casually.
He suddenly raised his right arm, revealing the gun that had previously been held at his side. When the mugger next spoke, Monica could hear slightly less cockiness in his voice compared to before. It was almost as if he was actually starting to reconsider doing exactly what he had been about to do. "You really think that a toy gun is going to make me even consider listening to what you have to say?"
In response, the man fired once. Monica could clearly hear the sound of the bullet being propelled from the barrel, though there was no sound that you would associate with flesh being pierced. Rather, there was just the striking sound that one would associate with a bullet only if it just so happened that the bullet hit a brick wall. "You missed me, kid. Nice try though" the mugger taunted.
-Tobias-
Tobias smirked dryly. "I very, very, seldom miss. But that was just a warning shot anyway. Let her go, or, I swear, the next shot will actually hit you. And trust me when I say that I know exactly where to shoot you to cause the maximum amount of pain without killing you".
"No, I don't think I will".
Wow. This guy really was drunk. Either that or he was really fucking stupid. Had to be one of the two. The younger man sighed audibly. "Fine then".
He fired again, this time hitting the mugger in the shoulder. He screamed in pain and dropped the knife, crumpling to the ground, and Tobias immediately fired a third shot, striking him in the lower leg. "Who… who the hell are you to be such a good shot?" the injured man hissed between clenched teeth.
"NYPD, bitch" the gunman responded coolly.
Tobias punched his opponent across the face, knocking him out for at least a few hours, and holstered his handgun before holding out a hand to help the girl to her feet. She seemed unsteady and shaky, as she nervously clasped the pendant and watch around her neck and arm respectively, before picking up her bag and turning to the man who had just saved her from being mugged. "I guess I owe you for saving me just then, sir. Thank you".
Tobias smiled gently. "You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad I could help out. Especially since my partners and I have been trying to catch this man for almost a year now" he replied easily, gesturing towards the man who lay, unconscious, against the wall of the alleyway.
"You're really with the NYPD then?"
Tobias grinned, opening his jacket to reveal the badge on the inside of his jacket. "Yeah, I really am with the NYPD. Mostly I work with the Homicide division, solving murders, getting justice for the deceased, that kind of thing. We've also sort of branched off into other serious crimes, crimes that don't quite involve people getting killed before we get there but don't involve any of the other branches of the NYPD because they still have the potential to turn out badly. And that's how my partners and I actually ended up chasing this particular mugger here" he replied, cheerful despite the situation.
Monica nodded. "I see. Hey, I don't believe I got your name".
"Tobias Grace. Detective Tobias Grace. And yours?"
"Monica Osborn. It's nice to meet you, Tobias"
"The same to you, Monica. Hey, I have to call my partners and let them know to get down here and arrest this guy (and, naturally, they'll want to get a statement from you), but after that, is there any chance I could possibly buy you a drink?" the detective suggested.
Monica merely smiled at this offer. "If you're offering, detective, I don't see any reason not to accept. Apart from that unconscious shithead over there, anyway… But aside from that, no reason to not accept".
~Present Day~
Monica laughed gently at the fond memories which had come rushing back as her fiancée had spoken, and took another bite of the pasta he had prepared earlier. "You've saved my life more times than I can even remember since we first met. It's hard to believe you never got tired of having me around" she joked.
"I could never get tired of your company" Tobias replied evenly.
"As for the fact that I've saved your life more times than you can remember, I'd do anything for you" he added quickly.
The red-haired woman nodded slightly, acknowledging this. "I guess it's true then, what I realized about you the third or fourth time that you saved my life".
Tobias looked confused for a second. "What was it that you realized, exactly?"
"That you really are my saving grace".

So. There we go. Definitely let me know what you thought of this chapter, as well as if you'd like to see the rest.

The original chapter didn't have any songs when I originally posted it, but it does now. Songs for this update are:

This Love, by Maroon 5

Everglow, by Coldplay