should not be doing this.

That's all that's running through his mind at the moment. Mom would be furious if she ever found out what he was doing. Annabeth would be incensed. Chiron, disappointed, and Grover…

Grover would just be very sad, and he's unable to formulate why that is somehow so much worse than anything else. He vows that, if nothing else, Grover will not find out. Throwing himself into the bushes as he hears the gusts of wind trailing from beating wings, he also vows not to let any harpies eat him.

It would be very easy to lie and say this is a spur-of-the-moment, poorly thought-out decision. The truth, however, is that this very planned, poorly thought-out decision. One that has been delayed long enough due to the Princess Andromeda and Luke and Atlantis and…

And oh gods, Beckendorf.

The pack of cigarettes in his hand feels impossibly heavy as Charlie crosses his mind, his memory as broad and massive as he was in life. Gone.

Charles Beckendorf is gone.

Charles Beckendorf is shoving him toward the bow of the ship.

Charles Beckendorf is gone.

Charles Beckendorf is staring at him, a crease in his brow and jaw set like stone. His eyes are wild, swear dripping from every pore as he realizes what's about to happen to him in front of Percy's eyes, yet his next words- his last words- are said in the same calm, gruff tone that he always used.

"You need to go."

Charles Beckendorf is, forever, looking back at him. Ready to die.

He's not even aware that he'd started moving again, and it comes as a shock when he finds himself standing in front of the ever burning hearth, just a few paces away from the dining pavilion. This was not his intended destination, and he thinks that, no matter how much mental duress he's under, nothing should have stopped him from making his way to the beach. And just as he's turned around, intending to do just that, he's struck with the thought that of all things, he's completely neglected to bring a lighter.

"Couldn't sleep?"

The sound that comes out of his mouth is something in between a yelp and growl, Riptide in his hands and uncapped before he can think, directing the blade instinctively toward the voice of the…

Very, very pretty girl that he's almost certain was not there a second ago?

"No." He laughs awkwardly, dropping Riptide and coughing into his fist. "Sorry for, uh, almost stabbing you." And then he's staring at his feet, hand scratching incessantly at the back of his head. It's partly because he's embarrassed that he almost stabbed her and partly that she's gorgeous and mostly because he's embarrassed that he almost stabbed someone so gorgeous.

A dark, rolling chuckle escapes the stranger and the sound of it makes his ears burn in a way that shouldn't be possible. Something as simple as a laugh should not be so alluring. "Since you did not stab me, I'd say you have nothing to apologize for." And she sounds like she means it, enough for him to lift his head from his shoes, and wow.

He'd thought from only a quick glance that she was very pretty, that she was gorgeous. He was not prepared for, as his eyes adjusted to the mix of shadows and firelight, the absolute picturesque beauty that was before him.

Her skin is so bronzed it seems to be a shade of dark orange, with full, red lips that seemed to be drawn in a permanent pout and bright yellow iris' looking at him with an almost amused tint. Her dark brown hair is tied neatly in a bun, a single golden hairpin emerging from both sides, with perfect bangs flowing down her heart-shaped face. She lounges languidly beside the hearth, wearing only a simple orange sun dress that did so much, but at the same time so little, to hide the curves of her body.

"Couldn't sleep either?" And then his mouth is moving without a thought and he's this close to just turning around and walking back to Cabin 2 to scream into his pillow when her lips pull back to reveal the most perfect smile he's ever even dreamed of.

"You could say that." She says, and it's all he can do to force himself to look her in the eyes and not at her lips as she speaks. She pats the open space next to her and his eyes are drawn to her small, manicured hand with nails painted deep red. "Sit with me. I'd more than welcome the company."

And then it's his body's turn to move without a thought as he finds himself dropping beside her, enough space between them that he can reliably not feel like a creep. He sets the pack of Marlboro's on the-

"Perseus Jackson!" His head snaps to his right, the beautiful stranger looking back at him with mock outrage, her words betrayed by the crinkle around her eyes. "Are those cigarettes?"

He laughs awkwardly once more, and his hand finds his neck once more and his eyes find the ground once more. "Yeah." He manages to murmur out, not finding it too odd that she knows who he is. He's, whether he likes it or not, kind of a big deal at this specific point in his life. "It, um, if you'd rather I go somewhere else-"

"Need a light?" She cuts him off with a smirk that he decides is too dangerously intoxicating for his health but still memorizes the exact points on her cheeks that dimple. She holds her hand out, a small, pale blue Bic lighter in her palm.

"Thanks." He smiles, gingerly reaching out for the lighter. He's not able to avoid the small amount of contact they exchange in the transaction. It's not like he's read, like lightning sparking between their fingertips. He's felt lightning course through his veins more often than he'd have liked to. This was not that. It is, however, like a burst of fire trailing up his arm. He shivers against his will and sees the smallest upturn of the stranger's lips in turn.

He rather likes the feeling.

"I feel as though I must ask, however," The stranger's sweet trill graces his ears as he puts the cigarette to his lips. "Why?"

He takes a second to laugh because it's really a very fair question. Why is Percy Jackson sneaking out at night to smoke cigarettes? "It's kind of depressing." He says out loud, before finally sparking the lighter and bringing it to the butt of the cigarette. He takes a long inhale.

"I have ti-" His hacking cough cuts the stranger off, and he's only too embarrassed to hear that same dark chuckle before he feels her small hand start rubbing tiny circles in his back. It feels as if she's tracing flames with her palms."This is your first time." She says, not even bothering to ask as she raises one perfect eyebrow at him. A weak smile is his only response. "Then you must tell me why."

He laughs again, feeling his dour mood rise at her pushiness. Her hand not leaving his back certainly helped too. He raises the cigarette to his lips again, taking a smaller drag and exhaling cleanly this time, watching the smoke trail away with satisfaction. "I realized this summer, that these are probably going to be the last couple months of my life." He stares into the fire, and he swears that the flames themselves seem to be listening to him. "So, I started to make a bucket list. Things I wanted to do before I probably, maybe die." A humorless laugh escapes him. "I also started way too late, so I had to throw that list out and make a new, more manageable one. And then me and my Mom were watching Goodfellas, and then I added it to the list." He takes another drag. "I figured, if I'm old enough to die, I'm old enough to smoke, right?" He turns to look at the stranger.

She is, for the first time this evening, not smiling. She stares at him with what he can only describe as all the worry in the world. Her lips are drawn in a thin line and her eyebrows are wrinkled together. "No." She all but whispers. "You are far too young to have a bucket list." Her hand trails from his back to his wrist, fire coiling through his veins at her touch as takes his hand and traces her fingers among his callouses. "Far too young to carry a sword." And then her hand is on his cheek, and the flames begin to lick his entire body. "And far too young to die."

He's awestruck for a moment, completely spellbound by whatever is taking place. The cigarette lies forgotten in his right hand, as all his attention is demanded by… this incredibly attractive stranger who is really, really close to him. "I've had time." He says once more without thinking. "To deal with it, I mean. It's just… well, it's closer than ever before now, so it's just hitting me all out once." Charlie's still pushing him off the ship. "A lot of things are hitting." He amends with a slight tremor. "I'm not- I don't want pity or anything like that. I don't want you to think-"

"I do not pity you, Perseus." She says, and it's impossible not to notice that where there was once a foot of space between them, her knee is now pressed into his thigh. "You are too good to feel pity for. I simply find it… unacceptable." And there is something in the way she says that last word that feels powerful and lasting and important. "But we can talk about that later." And there isn't even time for him to process that because her hand is still on his cheek and now her other handis on his knee and she almost looks like she's beginning to lean closer to him. "What else was on your list?"

"Stupid stuff." He mumbles, and he doesn't think he's ever been able to focus on anything this much in his life as he does with the twin suns that shine out of her eyes. "Climb Mount Everest, catch a touchdown for the Giants, punch David Ortiz in the face. Things like that." The most musical giggle graces his ears and he can't stop the wide smile that breaks across his face. "Get a girlfriend." He adds as an afterthought.

Her soft smile takes an unexpected edge at his last words. "Really?" She purrs, and he's unable to describe what the look on her face and the tone of her voice are doing to him. "And here I thought that you might be taken already." She says but does not seem at all surprised, and her soft features are contorted into that of a predator.

"N-Nope." He stammers as the already small gap between them begins to close. "Single, right here. Single as a pringle!" And the second those words leave his mouth he bites down on his tongue and tries to swallow it. What the hell was he thinki-

"Well, that won't do at all." She says as she presses her forehead to his, and he clenches his hands into fists as pleasurable heat flows down to his shoulders. "I can fix that."

"I don't even know your name." He murmurs, and he's half starting to think that her eyes are actually hypnotizing him, because, at this point, he doesn't know how much more self-control he has.

That same dark, blazing chuckle rings out again, and she raises one perfect nail to her lips. "You'll have to earn that, sweet boy."

It takes him all but a second to make his decision, and really, he's almost proud of himself for lasting as long as he has. It's not much of a choice at all. He's going to live before he dies. He crashes his lips into hers.

Inferno.

The feeling is indescribable. His whole body feels as if it's being submerged in the most luxurious hot spring, as he's all at once flown through all nine circles of Hell, past Purgatory, and lifted directly into Paradise. He's not even sure where he ends and she begins, as the pleasure is so all-encompassing it becomes difficult to even think. Her hands are in his hair and his are thrown around her waist, and there are nips and bites that send him sprawling back into the ignition.

He's not sure how much time he has left, but he realizes, in this moment, that he needs this for the rest of his time on Earth.

He pulls away for a second, and he nearly dives right back in from the disappointed sound that leaves her mouth. He trails kisses along her neck for forgiveness. "Name." He breathes into her skin. "Please."

He feels the smile curve across her face as she trails her lips from her brow to his ear, where she gives a tiny tug with her teeth. She whispers softly. "Hestia."

And then everything that had seemed odd clicks into place, and he's unable to stop his next words from leaving his mouth. "What the fuck?"

Hestia- What the fuck?- either doesn't notice or doesn't seem to mind that his entire world is crashing down around him, as her lips and hands and her entire body continue their heavenly assault. "I know, right?" She says against his cheek, and small as it may be, it is a comfort to know that she also finds this situation completely impossible.

"But- What-" His mind races through a thousand different words in search of an acceptable combination of words that mirrors his confusion. "Virgin?" That was not what he had wanted to say, but it did get the point across.

That dangerous laugh rings in his ears again, and the sound of it, so much closer and right against his ears, make his senses go haywire. "I, like you, have come to understand that my immortality might become… limited soon." Hestia tugs his head back gently from her neck and looks at him, and he realizes that the flames that he had only thought were reflected in her eyes are most definitely inside her eyes. " And I also have things I'd like to do before they are not possible."

He freezes, and his first thought is to get as much space between him and her as possible, but those small, delicate arms of hers are strong. He sets his jaw and forces himself to forget about how incredible she makes him feel. "So I'm just an excuse to cross something off your bucket list, then?" And he tries, damn he tries, to come across unattached, and like that doesn't hurt. Why would it? This is what Gods and Goddesses do. There can never be anything more than sex and fleeting attraction, because that would be new. And deities are incapable of trying something new.

But her forehead creases in that same worried way while her eyes soften to molten gold, and his constitution begins to crack before she even says a word. "Baby, the bucket list is an excuse to have you." And then he's shattered and those awful, warm, intense feelings come rushing back and he's at her mercy once more.

"I don't understand." And it's all he can do to speak those words calmly and not explode in a mess of confusion and anxiety. Because none of this makes sense and that means it's dangerous and when things got dangerous other people got hurt and if people got hurt because of him-

"Perseus, baby look at me." He's ripped from his self-induced torment as Hestia cradles his face in her impossibly soft hands, the soothing flames lapping across his nose. "Breath with me, Perseus-"

"Percy." He corrects, but it's in between a gasp of air as his lungs seem to be closing in on themselves, almost attempting suicide.

"Percy," Hestia says softly before pressing a searing kiss to his forehead. "Look at me, baby." And he drags his eyes from her midsection to her golden iris'. It feels impossibly hard like a weighted collar had been slipped around his neck. "I can calm you down instantly." She raises a hand bathed in amber light. "Or we can do it naturally. But you need to make the choice."

"No." He gasps out. "Naturally. Pathetic if I can't." But it's worse than pathetic. It's an utter failure if he can't. A failure to his mother and his father and every single demigod if can't remember how to breathe.

"Oh, honey, no." Hestia murmurs, softly squeezing his face. "You're having a panic attack, and that's about as far away from pathetic as you can get." She presses her forehead against his once more, but the warmth fades all too quickly to numbness. "But we're going to get through it, okay? Breathe with me, baby. Deep inhales and long exhales. Your breath is my breath."

He attempts to gather his thoughts, and tries to block out the incessant buzz of his brain as he follows Hestia's instructions. It's almost insulting as he starts, with the way his choppy breaths contrast completely with Hestia's composed and level ones. "Please." He says after a minute or two, his heart still pounding but finally able to breathe. "Please tell me how. How this is possible."

"I told you the truth, Percy." She says, trailing her fingers up and down his arms. "It is very possible that the proverbial end of the world comes to pass. If so, then I will still be here, a relic of a forgotten age, until I too fade away." Her twin suns seem to almost combust as she speaks, each word drawing more energy into the flames. "I have decided that, no matter the outcome, I cannot simply stand by and watch you anymore. I have also decided that the outcome will be in our favor." She finishes resolutely, and he watches as a small flame scorches out her right hand, only tickling his arm and leaving a small black mark.

"But why, Hestia?" And he's absolutely not over how weird it is for the strange girl he'd just met and become smitten over is the Goddess Hestia. "Why this and why me, and just why?"

"Because I am the Goddess of the Hearth, Percy." And she says it with so much assuredness that he almost feels stupid as he opens his mouth, but she raises a finger before he can speak. "It's a broad, almost incomprehensible domain, but if it can be compared to anything, you may liken me to the Goddess of Hope." He watches in amazement as her veins begin to shine like burning magma, pulsing orange coursing in front of his eyes. "And believe me when I tell you, there has been no mortal or God on this planet that has ever been the flawless epitome of hope that you are." She looks down to where are hands still trail down his arms. "And it has had… interesting effects on me." She finishes with a slight golden flush.

"But I'm just a demigod." He points out almost exasperatedly and he's shocked by the strangled giggle that Hestia emits, like a parent reacting to a child that had just said the funniest thing they'd ever heard.

"Just a demigod?" She repeats, and another laugh escapes her, small bursts of flame shooting out of her nostrils- which is adorable. "Right, you're just the demigod that receives thousands of prayers daily from mortals, demigods and deities alike." She begins to run her hands through his hair and he's not able to stop the small grunt of pleasure that escapes him, which earns him another perfect smile. "You're not just a demigod. Baby, you're the demigod. You're the demigod that Gods pray to."

Her praise is too much for him to handle, especially it just cannot possibly be true. "Because I'm the subject of a stupid prophecy." He mumbles. "One that doesn't guarantee anybody wins, just that I die, or that everything dies!" He all but snarls, but one look at Hestia's unimpressed face makes his flash of anger seem childish.

"You are not dying, Perseus Jackson." Hestia matches his tone, and when she says his full name a shiver runs down his spine. "Nobody is dying. Nobody." She presses her head into the crook of his neck and wraps her arms around him. "Everything lives." Reverberates across his skin.

"Everything lives." He repeats, almost unbelieving, because it was in total opposition to everything that seemed to be on the horizon. But if Hestia can say it with such certainty and authority… well, that may be enough.

As soon as the thought crosses his mind, Hestia's entire body glows a bright yellow- the exact shade of her eyes, he thinks- and an almost… lewd sound escapes her mouth. But before he can get a word, Hestia all but pounces on him, his back flat against the stone surrounding the hearth. Her eyes are comets entering the atmosphere now, wild and blazing and she's once more reverted to a complete predator. "Hope." She purrs.

And then its back to feeling every inch of her mouth and hands and body exploring every inch of his own. And while it's shocking, he's only a boy with so much self-control, and it's not too long before he's giving as good as he's receiving.

For all he knows, it could be minutes, hours, or days that pass before they finally pull away and he's graced with the most gorgeous sight he's ever seen. Hestia's straddling him, chest heaving and face flushed completely golden, her bangs splayed wildly across her face. It's heaven personified. "Are you sure you've never done this before?" Unfortunately, his mouth has to ruin everything.

Hestia pouts and smacks him on the arm. "Yes, you prick." She mutters, but her eyes are smiling at him in place of her lips. "I am sorry for the way I… came onto you so suddenly." She averts her eyes, tracing the pegasus on his Camp Half -Blood shirt. "If other beings pouring their hope into you does… strange things to me, then you, the veritable bastion of hope feeling just a tiny spark for yourself…" She trails off, her face more golden than he thought possible.

"Makes you wanna kiss me a lot?" He fills in with a smile. Hestia gives a small nod and mumbles something under her breath, (which sounds suspiciously like "Among other things."), before lying flat on his stomach and laying her head on his chest. She's taken a form that's exceptionally short, though still appearing a few years older than him, so the added weight isn't uncomfortable at all.

"It also makes me fall completely in love with you." Hestia whispers, and for a second he wonders if she's aware that she'd even said it out loud before her hands slap over her face and she's mumbling "Stupid, stupid, stupid." into her palms.

"Stop that." He gently lifts her hands from her face, and his heart almost breaks at the sight of her anxious expression. "You were just all over me like the ultimate cougar, shy doesn't suit you." He smiles widely, hoping to show her that she has absolutely nothing to worry about.

"That's different." She mumbles, averting his gaze. "It's so easy to reciprocate something sexual. It's another thing entirely with- with love."

"Well, let me reassure you that I think I was ready to marry you after just one look. I don't think that falling in love with you sounds so hard at all. If anything, it's scary because of just how easy it is." He speaks without thinking for what must be the thousandth time this night, but for the first time, he is completely satisfied with what's come out of his mouth.

"You mean that?" She asks disbelievingly, lifting her head from his chest to look him in the eyes. "Truly?"

"That's about the only thing I'm sure of right now." He flicks her nose and can't stop his laugh as she scrunches her face. "Don't make a fool out of me, please. It would really hurt my street cred if everyone found out I got played by a maiden goddess."

"Shut up, you idiot." Is all he hears before her lips are on his again, and once more, he loses track of just about everything. "Thank you, baby." She says against his lips. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank-"

Hestia covers his mouth with her hand and fixes him with a look that's quickly becoming familiar: her lips drawn into a line and one eyebrow raised. "The correct way to accept thankfulness, Percy, is to say you're welcome."

"Phuu're welc'me" He says, and then for good measure licks her palm.

Hestia merely rolls her eyes and wipes her hand on his shirt."Fucking child." She murmurs with a smile.

"Yeah, I am. Next time, don't fall in love with a sixteen-year-old." He quips and accepts Hestia's swat to the arm with pride. "So…" He trails off, well aware that it's almost dawn. "What next?"

"What next?" Hestia repeats, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. "I want you to come with me."

"Come with you?"

"Come with me." She affirms. "I don't know much about the Titans or their allies, but I know where to find out more." She squeezes his hand and bores into him. "This is a chance to be proactive, to save lives."

"The Ancient Laws?" He questions, because anytime something needed doing, the Gods always had that convenient excuse.

Hestia scoffs. "I'll break as many laws as it takes to ensure that we survive. That you survive." She presses her lips to his cheek. "Everything lives."

Could it really be that simple?

"Everything lives." He repeats back, imagining a world like that, where Camp Half-Blood's still standing, and he's alive with Hestia at his side. "Everything lives." He says again, and this time, he truly starts to believe.

He has to avert his eyes from Hestia with what happens next. Before, she had glown, soft, and ethereal. Now? Now, she burned. Every inch of her skin was bathed in flames, red and orange and blue-white colliding together into a kaleidoscope of fire. Molten lava colors her veins and her eyes are now more akin to searchlights.

In the thin cleave of the shadow beside the hearth, he sees her, aflame, and she stares back.

"Everything lives."

He dives into the abyss headfirst.