GUYS GUYS GUYS SON OF SOBEK OH MY GODS OF EGYPT GUYS

PERCY JACKSON AND CARTER KANE SASSING EACH OTHER GUYS I'M SCREAMING

hALP

um anyway it's going to be hard to make this AN coherent but basically this is when Carter's in the awkward new-boyfriend stage (I think that's a thing but I wouldn't know, having never been in a romantic relationship myself) and Zia is not as awkward because I think by definition she is incapable of being awkward ever

and yeah that's all I guess

(yes I used a Tom Hiddleston quote, no I don't care because he really is a wonderful dude)

O-o-O

"You should treat your love like a princess…Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but to respect the woman you love should be a priority."

-Tom Hiddleston

*#*#*

Sometimes Zia wondered how Carter hadn't had a girlfriend before her.

She knew why, of course—he'd never been able to stay in one place for more than a few weeks at a time. Even now, post-apocalypse and having a permanent residence, he was always running off somewhere on some errand for Amos. Sadie claimed it was annoying, but Zia didn't think so—usually because she was with him, because she'd learned by now that leaving any two members of the Kane family to their own devices wouldn't end well.

But that still didn't explain Carter's claims that there had never been anyone remotely interested in him—she wasn't quite sure she believed him, actually. He was certainly attractive—not hot, as Sadie said her friends had once put it, but cute, with that golden child smile of his that seemed to light up his whole face and his demeanor of quiet excitement.

But what really astonished her was how incredibly kind he was.

No, she mused, kind wasn't the word. Carter had his moments when even she was scared of him, although never directed toward friends. Besides, there were plenty of boys she knew who were kind. Walt, Felix, even Julian, when he wasn't making a conscious effort to annoy her. Maybe the word she needed was courteous.

It was courteous—and adorable—the way he'd pulled her chair out for her at lunch, and the way he'd blushed and stammered after she reminded him that she had two perfectly fine arms of her own, thank you.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the scraping sound of sneakers crossing concrete drew level with her, and Carter sat down, sliding his legs under the terrace railing so his feet were dangling next to hers over the East River.

"Hi," he said. "Thinking about the meaning of life?"

"Thinking about you, actually," she replied, and grinned when his ears turned red.

"Right," he said, slowly. "Um, generally not a good idea to think of scary things late at night. You might have nightmares."

She snorted. "Please."

He returned her smile and reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders, then stopped, his skin hovering inches away from her own. "Uh…may I?" he asked, biting his lip.

Her grin slipped away as she wondered what on earth he was talking about, and her eyebrows furrowed—and then it dawned on her, and she could feel her own gaze soften as she tugged on his wrist until his arm settled over her.

"You don't have to ask," she told him gently. She scooted closer and rested her forehead against his shoulder—partially because it was getting chilly and partially because whatever cologne he was wearing smelled really nice.

His chin rested on her head, and she could hear the rumble in his neck as he said, "I will."

She sat up. "Why?"

The fingers resting against her upper arm twitched nervously. He shrugged, and stared at the ground as he said, stammering slightly, "I, uh—this is going to sound really cheesy, feel free to slap me or something, but—I want to treat you right." He shrugged again and picked at a loose thread on his shirt.

Insensitive as it was, Zia couldn't help it. She laughed.

"What?" he demanded, his eyebrows scrunching together as he looked at her.

She shook her head in silent wonder, still chuckling, and wrapped her own arms around his neck in a hug. "I don't know what I did to deserve you," she muttered.

"You're being ridiculous."

And all she could do was smile, because it had occurred to her that he was the first person that she could remember ever touching her like this, and she wasn't flinching away.

O-o-O

…um, "Must Have Done Something Right" by Relient K popped up on iTunes near the end of this, if that helps explain the awkward ending part thing you know what I need to go to bed this is what I get for doing speech contest and getting up at 5 am.

/end ramble