At least that's what we assumed it would look like, but the cabin was actually dominated by a bunch of pride flags. "Could you maybe introduce yourself in a way that calls me out less? Well, it doesn't matter, there's no one here to hear it" "That's actually why we're here. The second thing" "You're here… because there's no one here to hear you?" "I was just thinking, along with Annabeth and Leo, you're among the people with the most trauma here. Annabeth, did you ever need my support to deal with that trauma?" "I still do." "See, I don't know about Leo, but Annabeth is still struggling despite having lots of help from me and, from what I've heard, also Piper. We realized that while you have about as much trauma as Annabeth does, you don't really have that support, meaning there's nobody who hears your problems, and that's probably really hard for you." "So you're here because you think my life is too hard?" Now I tried it. "Nico, you've been in literal hell, you were locked up in a jar for a week and you were turned into a corn plant. You don't go through that stuff unfazed. Let me ask you something: how often do you get flashbacks or panic attacks?" "Maybe once or twice per day, why do you want to know?" "That's about my rate as well, except I almost always have Percy by my side. The ones where I'm alone are always worse. And I have no idea what's up with Will…" Nico's blush told me everything I needed to know "-but you seem kind of alone. You deserve support" "Who's gonna support me? I'll deal with it" "Nico, did you ever think that this" I pointed at the pride flag behind him "Was something that you would not be supported in?" "Ever? I come from 1940s fascist Italy. I thought that for like five years not straight" "People will support you with your trauma just the same" "Fine, I guess I'll have to give these to someone" He went to a wardrobe in the corner and tossed three shirts over to me. On them, it said Nico protection squad. Piper was the first to say what everyone was thinking "Why does this exist?" "Amazon dropped them off a few weeks ago. I feel like Reyna might have something to do with it. Just because she basically founded the NPS and her sister is, you know, the CEO of Amazon. I also have this" He got out another shirt that just said I'm Nico. "I cannot stress enough that this was not my idea and was not approved by me" "Acknowledged" "You still didn't tell me why you're here though" "To give you the no-physical-contact-equivalent of a hug" "Uh, thanks for that, whatever you mean by that" "We don't really know either." "Great. Well, I appreciate the gesture. You know what, I could use a short conversation. You may sit down." We went inside. Since there were only two chairs, Percy tried to sit down on Nico's bed. "Sorry, the bed is only for gays, with a royal title" "But there's only two chairs here" I remarked. "Fine, Piper, you might just barely meet the requirements." "might?" "Ever kissed a girl?" "Only drunk" "That's enough." He allowed Piper to sit next to him on the bed. Not right next to him of course, there was still like a meter between them. "Sooo…" Percy broke the silence. "How are you dealing with everything?" "I'm surviving. The flashbacks kind of suck. I'm still weak and my lungs are pretty much destroyed. I also have developed extreme claustrophobia and I can't eat popcorn without feeling like a cannibal. That's the important stuff." "If it makes you feel better, I can't breathe either. Percy?" "I actually don't have any problems because of how I dealt with it" "Can you deal with me as well?" "I would, but 1) it probably wouldn't work, 2) you might die and 3) even if you survive it, you might end up severely traumatized" "I'm currently trying to avoid any and all trauma, so I'll decline your offer" Nico said. I agreed with him. "But may I ask what you did?" "Basically, I drowned myself. The water not only flushed the sulphur out of my lungs but also healed the damaged tissue. So yeah, this is kind of a child of Poseidon only thing. Sorry guys" "It's fine" Nico said. "But that sulphuric air really sucked" "You know, maybe we shouldn't talk about something that is triggered for almost everyone here" "Makes sense. Thank you again for coming here. Knowing that people support me is great" "If you ever need us, we'll be there" "Don't forget your shirts" We left Nico to do whatever traumatized thirteen year olds do.
"We've cheered Nico up a bit and got new shirts. Full on success I'd say." Piper assessed the situation. "So, what do we do next?" Percy asked "I mean, I'm here, Annabeth is here, when are we gonna get such an opportunity again" "Well, the last time was just three days ago, so it probably won't be that long" "We should still absolutely use that opportunity" "We should. Let's go to an undisclosed place for an undisclosed activity." "Do that. Oh, and Percy?" Piper said. "Yes" Piper went up to him and told him something I didn't understand. "You two better not be conspiring against me" "Don't worry wise girl. You can trust me" "Then why are you keeping secrets from me?" Okay, maybe I was overreacting, but years of betrayal had made me very cautious of whom I trusted. "It's for a non-deadly surprise" "That is the only acceptable answer." "I wouldn't have any other answer than this one. I won't hide anything from you for any reason other than your benefit" "Aww, I just love your dynamic" was the last thing we heard from Piper before we made our way to Percy's cabin.
We sat down on his bed. For a while, we just sat there, slowly getting closer until we were properly cuddling. "I just had an idea, but I'll need your help" Percy told me. "Are you interested in calculating the structural integrity of complex materials?" I spent the next thirty minutes designing support structures and hinges and whatever else was needed. I was so immersed in the project that I never even questioned what the Hades the whole thing was even about. "I'll get the stuff we need, you wait here" Percy suggested. "Nope, I'm focused on this thing now, I can't just stop. Also, I have the material list here on my la-" I pressed the button for transforming my laptop. "-on my phone and I don't care how much I trust you, you're not getting that." "Fine, then you go get the materials" "Thanks" I left Percy's cabin, heading for cabin 11. If the children of the god of thieves couldn't get me what I needed, no one could.
Percy
After just ten minutes, Annabeth came back with several square meters of cardboard and a ton of duct tape and adhesive spray. "Where'd you get all of this?" "Mr. D bought a new TV just a few days ago and it came in this. By the way, that's by far not enough. If we want more, we'll either have to buy it or steal from dumpsters." "Let me guess, you know where we can find that" "I actually don't, but I know who does"
Annabeth took me to the half-blood house of wisdom aka cabin 6. Once there, she asked one of her sisters (They all look almost the same so I don't know which one it was exactly) where one could get the cardboard we needed. Her sister got a map of the area and pointed out some locations. Annabeth thanked her for the information and we left the cabin. "So, your sister just knows where we can find lots of cardboard?" "Well, she's just really interested in waste management, the same way I'm obsessed with architecture" "That's a weird thing to be interested in" "Weirder than blue food?" "Point to you" "By the way, could I borrow that spider silk thing?" "Sure" someone from inside the cabin answered, then came out to give it to her. "Then I guess I'll take Mrs. O'Leary and steal some cardboard" "Why you alone?" "Because my cap can only turn one person invisible. As much as I hate to be separated from you, I think I'm better off doing this alone" "If you insist. I'll get her" I got Mrs. O'Leary to the cabins and helped Annabeth get on her back (though she insisted that she could do it alone. "You have to listen to Annabeth now, okay" I told her. "See you at your cabin. And make sure the door is open" "I'll do that"
A few minutes later, I was sitting on my bed, waiting for Annabeth to come back when suddenly a bunch of cardboard appeared on the floor. It was all connected to thin strings that ran through the open door and into the hand of Annabeth sitting on my hellhound. "This should be enough. Now let's get to work" She said as she slid off Mrs. O'Leary's back and ran into my cabin.
We spent the next two hours or so assembling walls, pillars and other structurally relevant stuff. Annabeth loved designing, she loved calculating stabilities and stuff and she loved trying out new materials, so you can probably imagine how much she enjoyed the whole process. I didn't enjoy it as much but seeing her happy more than made up for that. The only annoying thing was that I had to give Annabeth enough information for her to calculate everything without revealing what I was actually planning to do. At around 4:30, we finally had all the pieces assembled and I was ready to put them together. Now I just had to get rid of Annabeth somehow since I couldn't exactly have her around while setting up the surprise for her. (Well, technically it was more so for the littles, but from what I had heard, information could always trickle through) "I just remembered" I said. "I still have this math homework due tomorrow and doing it now when I could be spending quality time with you would just be unacceptable" "And now you want me to do it for you" "Not really do it for me, just help me a bit. Okay, a lot" "And what would I get out of that?" Annabeth asked with a smirk. "When we're done, I could give you a hug and tell you what you want to hear" I know I said you shouldn't use people's trauma against them but this was an exception. Basically, trauma, especially long term trauma, creates weaknesses in two ways. On one hand, things relating to the trauma can be triggering. Exploiting this is absolutely not okay. On the other hand, long term trauma will usually create a desire for change, so by creating a situation that contrasts with the trauma, you appeal to the persons desires, which can make them like you. Taking advantage of someone's trauma like this can be okay, but it strongly depends on the context. Just as I expected, Annabeth's expression quickly changed from a smirk to a wide smile. "Please, of course I'll help you" I just knew what Annabeth liked.
I began with my homework. While I was working on it, I contacted Grover via our empathy link. 'Hey there G man' 'Hi Percy' 'Could you do me a favor? I need to get Annabeth out of my cabin for like ten minutes to prepare a surprise. Could you organize that?' 'Sure thing. I'll ask Piper, she'll most likely be able to convince her' 'Good idea. Tell her it has to do with the surprise for Annie' 'I'll do that. Do you need her gone right now?' 'Not now, I'll tell you when but keep the metaphorical motor running' 'You can count on me' "Percy, are you even listening?" "Now I am, sorry" With her intensive help, I finished my homework in less than fifteen minutes, way faster than I could have managed on my own.
"We finished your work, now I demand cuddles" Annabeth declared. 'Now' I sent to Grover. "Annabeth, could you help me with something?" Piper asked from outside the cabin, her voice dripping with charm speak. "Fine, I'm coming" Annabeth left my cabin and I quickly began assembling the cardboard walls and ceiling in the corner of my cabin, creating a room large enough for two people to comfortably sit or even stand in. Just a minute later, Grover warned me that that Annabeth was coming back. I stepped outside the cabin, not sure what to do now. "Hey Percy. I just had to figure out at what angle a rack would have to be positioned for the nail polish bottles to just barely not slide off because the Aphrodite kids didn't want to waste too much material on the pile of magazines holding the board up. Can't they have more important problems?" "Did you enjoy solving it?" "I did" Annabeth admitted. "But it took me extra-long because there was something in there that triggered us and I spent a lot of time just staying grounded, and now I still have Annie sorta close to front." "That just so happens to be a good thing." "Why is that" "Well, Piper told me that Annie was more comfortable in small spaces like pillow forts, so I had an idea. Annie, are you seeing this?" Someone nodded. "Well, I made something. Close your eyes and follow me" I opened the door, and led her through it and to the entrance of what was basically a massive cardboard box. "Open your eyes" "Wow cool" That was definitely not Annabeth. "Did I just say that out loud?" "You did. Want to go inside?" "I would, but then I'd probably switch and when I switch out, I can't get my promised hug" "Sure, we'll stay outside. Do you want me to tell you stuff I told you like yesterday, or would that be annoying?" "Maybe at the end. Now just do it" "Okay"
We sat down on the bed and I put my arms around Annabeth's body. After a few seconds, I began talking. "Annabeth, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You're really smart and almost not annoyingly confident about it. You're so pretty that I still remember the day I first saw you." "Not much changed since then. You still drool in your sleep" "My first thought when I saw you were princess curls. You're also really hot and-" "Percy, there's a child here" "Sorry. Well, you mean the world to me and I wouldn't give you up for anything. If you ever doubt that, just remember; I crossed the entire country- for you. I blew up a mountain- for you. I turned down immortality- for you" I'll admit it, the last two were kind of lies but this wasn't about the complete truth, it was about making Annabeth feel good. "When I had my memory wiped, I kept myself alive with just one thought- you. When I was in camp Jupiter, I was imaging a safe life for me- and you. I even decided not to bring up very traumatic stuff right now- for you. I did at least two other traumatic things- for you." "Don't worry, I'm not doubting anything. But keep going" "Let's have a look at more recent events. Like you discovering your system. I never thought for a second that it was weird or anything, at least not in a bad way. You should know that I will always support you. That was something I told myself long ago. Back then I didn't know how much support you'd really need, but hey, a little extra cuddling never bothered me. What I'm trying to say is this: Annabeth Chase, I love you more than anyone else outside of my mortal family and wouldn't trade what we have for anything." I ended my monologue with a kiss.