Song Rec: "Such. " by Static Dress. Love this song for a lot of reasons. One being that it's just a pretty song that I love listening to at night, especially when driving. It's a good mix of energy while having a relaxing feeling. Then again, maybe that's just me being odd. It reminds me of "Direction" by Mat Kerekes in a very roundabout way. I think I recommended that, but I don't remember or care to look. Still, it's got this idea of longing, almost like holding one-self on a knife's edge as you wait for someone to seal your fate. To me, it's almost like you're leaving yourself in someone else's hand and relishing that idea of a lack of control. Maybe that's an odd statement, but that's me in a nutshell. Anyway, let me know what you think!
It'd taken people a little while to get there, but Percy and Diana had managed to distract themselves until then. Eventually, after Diana had heard the door opening, they'd made their way into the kitchen to find Nico, Thalia, and Will walking in. Thalia, as per usual, hadn't bothered to knock and had strolled right in. Annabeth hadn't minded one bit, and the lot of them were now talking in the kitchen over preliminary drinks.
"I see you've been as busy as ever," Nico nodded at the various plans laid out on the table.
Annabeth just smiled tightly, "Gods and their absurd schedules."
Everyone let out a groan in agreement, except for Diana, which Percy and Thalia had no issue pointing out.
"One of us here is one of the issues," Thalia whispered not so quietly to Percy. Diana just rolled her eyes in amusement as Percy grinned.
"I can recall more than a few days that she's made us get out of bed at rather disagreeable times to keep up with some imaginary schedule," Percy agreed.
"I suppose that depends on what you consider "agreeable", Perseus," Diana shot back quickly, "Two in the afternoon hardly counts."
"Sure sure, but why is it that whenever you don't want to get out of bed, we don't go anywhere?"
Thalia agreed, "Yeah why is that?"
Diana laughed good-naturedly as Percy, "You've never once argued against it."
"He's sure as hell complaining though," Will chimed in.
"Who's side are you on?" Percy turned on the son of Apollo.
"He's an appreciated third party," Diana was quick to defend.
Percy was about to respond, but there was another knock on the door, leading several heads to turn over towards it. Annabeth, who'd been mostly silent, gestured towards it briefly before going to let the others in. While she was doing that, Diana noticed Percy looking purposefully in her own direction.
Percy just grinned, and Diana could see that he was gesturing to something. Given that they were standing opposite to each other, it was a bit difficult to tell exactly what, but that didn't stop her - especially when given the fact that Diana could just move over to him. And such she did.
"What's up?" Diana whispered, just loud enough for Percy to hear it, and just quiet enough for nobody else to notice.
Percy subtly pointed to one of the plans that was spread out on the table, detailing a rather elaborate parlor in need of a redesign, "Tell your brother to relax a little."
Diana glanced down at the sheets and rolled her eyes, "He would."
"What are you two talking about?" Thalia was quick to cut into their conversation, squeezing her way between the two and throwing an arm around both of them.
"If you'd use your eyes for about two seconds," Nico said towards them, "You'd see the plans on the table."
"Why are you looking at plans?" Thalia wrinkled her nose.
"Apollo," Percy shrugged.
"Huh," Thalia didn't say much more than that as a grand total of five other people walked into the room. Annabeth, obviously, led the pack and was followed quickly by Hazel and Calypso while Leo and Frank followed along dutifully after like little ducklings.
"How late are we?" Leo asked first thing, seeing the group of people around the table.
Will chuckled, "Earlier than Jace and Piper, if that's what you're asking."
Leo just looked relieved as everyone fanned out around the table. Hazel quickly made her way over to Percy and hugged him, and Frank made sure to greet him as well.
"Where've you been?" Frank asked Percy as soon as Hazel let go of him, "Feel like we haven't seen you in forever."
Percy blew a little hair out of his face, "Oh you know. Traveling. Killing things."
"Occasionally being a hermit," Thalia added in teasingly, "Have you met Diana by the way?"
Both Romans looked over at the goddess, seemingly confused. Frank offered a stiff hello while Hazel seemed far more comfortable greeting her.
"Have we met before?" Hazel asked curiously, offering her hand.
"On Olympus," Diana's smile was nothing but kind, but Percy could absolutely see the amusement that she was trying to hide, "And meeting briefly when you once visited Lupa a few years ago."
Hazel smiled as Frank made a face, "Are you good friends with Lady Lupa?"
Diana nodded easily, recalling the many times they'd spoken, "We tend to get along quite well."
Frank nodded, and Percy could see that gears were turning. Diana certainly seemed to be enjoying it, "Are you sure you should refer to her so casually though?"
Percy and Thalia both snickered, with Will choosing to take pity on both of them as Diana just smiled, "Thalia would mean Diana as in goddess of the moon, and patron of the hunters."
Hazel froze very briefly while Frank stared, but both were quick to try to apologize. The goddess just waved them off. Percy noted the slight way her voice leavened in amusement, "I don't mind. Stature means nothing between friends, no?"
Frank opened his mouth to say something but closed it just as quickly, while Hazel smiled after a slight pause, "Thank you."
Percy just grinned, changing the subject, "So what's the plan?"
"Get piss drunk," Leo offered, "maybe play some games at the same time?"
"He's speaking for himself," Will rolled his eyes.
"Seconded," Nico agreed.
"You would," Leo shot back while the others grinned.
"True," Thalia agreed, "And please tell me you don't mean board games."
"Just because you're shit at them doesn't mean that the rest of us can't enjoy them," Percy shot back, "Besides, what other games do you have in mind?"
"I'm sure I can think of a few," Thalia grinned. She not-so-subtly looked between Diana and Percy several times, smirking a little as she did.
Nico, seeing this, rolled his eyes and stepped in, "Are you good at any of them?"
Thalia glared at him for a moment before sighing, "Probably not."
The rest of them laughed, and that was how they found themselves playing a drinking game. Basically, it consisted of a bunch of cups placed in a big circle together, all filled with various sorts of drinks with two cups being passed around. The goal was to bounce a ball off the table into the cup being passed around, with the end goal being to make one person have both cups so that they'd have to drink a cup and add it to the stack. Percy wasn't sure he understood the first time, but as they played it became a lot easier to understand. Really, it seemed like it was just an excuse to drink. He was ninety percent sure that Annabeth had actually learned about it during a college party which made sense, but felt a bit out of character.
He didn't think about it any more though, especially given the fact that Jason and Piper showed up about ten minutes into their third game. Leo was red in the face, as was Frank, while Hazel had tapped out and was quietly sipping on some wine as everyone else played. Diana had yet to drink, either bouncing the ball in first try every time or narrowly missing and getting it the second time. Percy, despite his best effort, was doing only marginally better than Leo as Diana had shifted the cup to him every time, essentially forcing him to drink.
This continued on for a good amount of time before they finally called it, with Diana just grinning at Percy as he shook his head in an attempt to sober up. The others paid him little attention as they moved towards the table, intent on eating. There was a rather nice spread set out for them, courtesy of some catering thing on Olympus. Percy didn't think too much about the details as he slowly made his way to the table as well. Diana, taking pity on him, set a guiding hand on the small of his back to gently steer him towards everyone else.
He shot her a grateful look as they both came to sit at the table, easily joining the conversation as they did. As it stood, Thalia had managed to survive their little drinking game, with only Nico and Calypso coming off better from it. Will, Jason, and Piper had done well enough, but were certainly feeling it, while Leo and Frank were looking worse for wear. As such, there was the requisite amount of teasing as they all sat around, picking at anything that caught their eye. Percy, being rather hungry, had jumped at the opportunity. Still, he made sure that Diana was taken care of as well as he carefully served her anything that she might like.
The goddess quite appreciated it, even if she wasn't necessarily a fan of the look that Annabeth was giving her. It was no matter though, as the architect quickly looked away upon noticing the Huntress's attention.
Thalia, being the person she was, felt the need to nudge Percy a bit, "What do I have to do to get you to do that for me?"
Nico chuckled, hearing it from across the table, while Will just grinned. Diana didn't say anything, but Percy felt the need to retort, "Be the last person alive, probably. Or just ask."
Thalia snickered, "I mean unprompted. I get she's a goddess and all, but aren't you sucking up a bit?"
"Ha ha," Percy rolled his eyes, stabbing a piece of food off his plate, "I enjoy doing it. Shouldn't you be the happiest about it anyway?"
"I definitely am," Thalia picked a piece of chicken off the platter in front of her, "but that doesn't mean I can't poke fun at you."
"Her humor is the only thing she's got going for her," Nico shrugged.
Thalia whipped around to look at the Ghost King, "Oh take his side more why don't you."
"He has a point," Percy shrugged. Thalia, caught between two sides, argued as best as she could, getting a word in wherever she could while Nico and Percy shot back. The others just observed. It happened more often than not anyway, so the others had expected it once the daughter of Zeus started messing with her friend.
Eventually though, it did all wrap up with everyone settling back down and chatting amicably as they ate. It really didn't take them all that long to eat, as most of them were more interested in messing around a bit, either playing more games or just fucking around and having fun. Naturally, that meant that they were all going to reconvene at some point later in the night when everyone inevitably got hungry again. They were, after all, demigods (and some, like Nico, were fully gods), meaning that they could pack away more food than the average person.
People wandered off. Percy wasn't exactly paying attention, but he was pretty sure that the others, minus Will and Calypso were all together in the living room. Leo had dragged them all out while Will had stayed back with him and Diana to clear the table. It looked like Calypso was already moving around in the kitchen. Whether she was cleaning or not was up for grabs, but that didn't matter.
"Think Leo will end up sleeping here again?" Will asked, picking up a few plates.
Percy smiled softly as he picked up a few items as well, "Probably. Surprised he's made it this long."
"Does this happen often?" Diana asked curiously as she snapped her fingers. Most of the remaining items stacked themselves neatly so that she could carry them.
The goddess had hovered around Percy for the majority of the night, though most of the others (and especially those that had a bet about when they'd get together) had expected that.
Will chuckled, "Yeah, pretty often. You'll probably be seeing it happen more often too."
Percy agreed, "If Thalia's bad, Leo's worse. Frank's somewhere in the middle."
Diana nodded understandingly, and the three of them made their way to the kitchen. Annabeth and Calypso were chatting amicably as they tended to a few things, with the daughter of Athena working at the pile of dishes while Calypso processed all of the leftover food, placing it in containers so they could be put in the fridge.
"Where would you like these?" Diana asked as she walked up towards the sink.
Annabeth turned to look over her shoulder, and Percy noticed the look of mild surprise the architect had, though he doubted anyone else would have picked up on it, "Oh just off to the side somewhere. I'll get to them soon enough."
Calypso tuned in to their conversation, "Is there any food left at the table."
Will glanced back at the table from around the corner, "Looks clean enough."
Calypso nodded as Annabeth shifted so that she could grab a few of the newly brought dishes, "Think one of you could sweep?"
"Hmm?" Percy, who had started on putting the clean dishes away, looked up.
Calypso repeated herself, "I was asking if someone wouldn't mind sweeping."
Percy nodded easily, "I'll handle it whenever I'm done."
Diana shook her head, "I'll handle it."
The daughter of Athena nodded appreciatively, "You know you guys don't have to do this, right?"
"Sure," Will agreed as he dried one of the plates, "but it gets done a bit faster, yeah?"
"Seconded," Percy chimed in, "besides, it's the least we can do since you hosted."
"It's only polite," Diana agreed, cementing that they didn't mind helping in the slightest, "Though may I ask where the broom is?"
Calypso spoke up, nodding in the general direction of the closet, "I'll show you."
The two disappeared from the room, and the other three fell into a comfortable silence as they made steady progress towards cleaning everything up. Annabeth washed everything, while Will dried and Percy put things in their various cabinets and drawers, essentially forming a little assembly line to process everything.
"Do these still go in one above the stove?" Percy asked, hefting one of the pans that some of the food had been served in.
Annabeth paused to look at him, trying to figure out what exactly he was holding, "Yeah same place."
Percy nodded and made his way towards the aforementioned spot, "Bottom of the stack still?"
Annabeth just hummed in acknowledgment, and Percy set to work. She had this habit of stacking a lot of her pots and pans in the cabinets above the stove. Some of them were from the same sets, so those made sense, but occasionally, there was the odd outlier that made everything difficult. Surprise surprise, but the son of the sea happened to be holding one such pan, leading him to take everything out so he could place the pan down.
That went fine, right up until they heard a rather large crash in the living room, or somewhere close to it. Percy, who was slightly surprised, jumped a bit, but managed to hold onto everything well enough to prevent a secondary, resulting crash.
Will sighed, turning to the daughter of Athena, "Should I go check on that, or do you want to?"
"I'd rather not see what happened, I think," Annabeth's shoulders slumped a little. Percy couldn't help but think that she looked rather tired.
"I'll let you know what the damage is," Will nodded, setting down his drying rag.
"Sure," Annabeth nodded noncommittally.
A few moments of silence went by before Percy spoke up, "I'm sure it's fine. I wouldn't worry too much."
Annabeth looked up, turning to him as she did, before looking back down at the dish in her hands, "You seem optimistic considering we left Jason, Leo, and Frank alone."
"Well," Percy shrugged, "Nico's there. Plus. Diana could just fix up whatever was broken."
"You seem very comfortable with her."
Percy paused for a moment before going back to what he was doing, "She's probably my best friend, so I guess."
She made a noise in the back of her throat before speaking, "How did that happen exactly?"
"Party on Olympus one night, and I guess it turned into us hanging out more after that. We get on pretty well, so I never thought much of it."
"Does she do that with anyone else?"
"She does whatever pleases her."
"I see," Annabeth looked up slowly, "What have you been doing recently?"
Percy glanced over his shoulder at the growing pile of wet but clean dishes, "Traveling right now. Seeing the country a bit before I've got responsibilities to tend to."
He jokingly shuddered at the thought, causing her to laugh, "How awful."
"Truly," Percy agreed. He let out a sigh, "What's been up with you?"
"Usual. Work and such," Annabeth answered easily, "Haven't had much time to myself recently."
"So you decided to throw a party?" Percy asked, jokingly questioning her, "Yeah makes enough sense I guess."
The architect rolled her eyes, "Right. I wanted to see you and everyone else again."
"Sure sure," Percy grinned to himself before turning to her, "Want me to dry those for you?"
Annabeth looked at him appreciatively, "Please?"
"Sure," Percy didn't think much of it as he walked over towards her, making sure to pull any water off as he came to stand next to her. It sat neatly in a ball, suspended above the sink until the daughter of Athena was done.
"You're good."
Percy nodded, letting it splash down gently into the sink, "Anything else I can do for you?"
He watched as she turned to him, and he was almost certain that she had held back a comment that would have been unrelated to his question.
"Nothing I can think of."
The daughter of Athena seemed a little distracted, and Percy noted a few items out of place, so he went about fixing them.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Percy asked quietly, "You seem tired."
"A bit," Annabeth didn't spare him a look as she dried her hands on a washcloth, "But I've got a long weekend after this so I'll be fine."
"Stretching yourself thin again?"
Annabeth exhaled softly, "Yeah. You know how it goes."
"More like how you go, but sure," Percy shook his head as he closed a cupboard, "If you need to kick us out, we'll understand you know?"
"I did invite you all here," Annabeth shook her head, "I'm more than prepared to deal with it."
"So long as "it" doesn't involve Leo breaking something by accident."
Annabeth paused, looked up, and then looked back down, "Yeah."
"It'll be fine," Percy assured her, "I'm sure that between Nico and Will, it'll be handled. And I know Diana's more than happy to help as well if it's needed."
"Okay," Annabeth nodded slowly. Somehow, she didn't sound so sure. "How long have you two been friends? Diana I mean."
Percy scratched at his jaw before answering, "About a year I think?"
The daughter of Athena seemed a little surprised at that, "Really? That long?"
Percy chuckled, "Yeah. Bit of a surprise at first, but it definitely hasn't felt that long at all."
"That's good," Annabeth nodded again.
"Yeah," Percy smiled as he looked over towards the dining table, "she and I are doing a little road trip before the whole Olympian thing happens."
"I'm surprised you decided to do that."
"Well, it took a bit of convincing from everyone, but I figured that if I want things to change, I need to be one of the one's pressuring it to do so, right?"
She smiled at that, "Sounds like you're as set as ever."
"Suppose so," Percy shrugged, "Plus, I doubt it'll actually end up with a whole lot of responsibilities."
"What makes you say that?"
"I seem to spend time with Diana quite often and she doesn't really seem stressed or bothered about those things. Dad either actually."
"I think they're a little different though," Annabeth made a face.
"Yeah I guess they're not like craftsmen or anything like that," Percy shrugged, "I expect I'd end up like them honestly. Nature god and all that."
"That sounds like you honestly, so yeah," Annabeth agreed softly, "You talk about Diana a lot."
"Am I?" Percy rubbed the back of his head.
"A bit," she nodded, "Like her that much, huh?"
Percy paused in the middle of closing a drawer, looking over towards the architect. He stared at her for a moment, "That obvious?"
"I think it's fair to say that I know you better than most," Annabeth smiled tightly, "But yeah. That obvious."
"Shit," Percy cursed quietly, "I've been trying to figure out how to tell her."
"Really?" Annabeth didn't seem all that surprised, though she still sounded a bit breathless.
"Yeah," Percy rubbed the back of his head, "You don't seem all that surprised."
"Yeah, but," Annabeth stopped, letting Percy finish it.
"Me. Yeah. I know," He ran a hand through his hair, "What about you? Interested in anyone?"
She didn't say anything for a moment before answering. It wasn't slow, just… Tired, "Yeah. I guess."
"Uh oh," Percy frowned, "Not going well?"
"Not even close," She offered him a weak smile. Both sat somewhat awkwardly in the kitchen, "Want to see what everyone else is up to?"
"Probably should," Percy couldn't hide the relief in his voice, though he imagined she would have known anyway as he'd never been the best at hiding his feelings.
"Yeah alright," Annabeth sighed, "Let's see what the damage is."
As it would turn out, there was no damage. Sure, Leo had crashed into the table and effectively shattered it, but Diana, as Percy had said, fixed it up. Leo was still nursing a bit of a gash on his forehead, but Will was in the process of fixing it. Calypso offered Annabeth a tight smile and an apology, "Sorry about him."
The daughter of Athena just waved it off though, saying that it wasn't all that big of a deal. Percy knew she'd never particularly cared for that table anyway.
"What caused it?" Percy asked curiously. He couldn't help but notice the sheepish look on Jason's face.
"I uh," the blond in question scratched his cheek, "May have accidentally slammed him into it after he jumped on me. Sorry."
He grinned weakly at Annabeth who just let out a breath, "It's fine. Leo's not hurt too bad so I don't really care."
"You guys had one job," Percy shook his head as he moved to stand by Diana, "I swear it can't be that hard."
"Hey it's not my faul-" Leo was quickly silenced by a withering glare from his significant other. He quickly ground out an apology instead, "Sorry. Didn't mean to break anything."
"It's fine," Annabeth shook her head, "Really, it doesn't bother me. Never really cared for that table anyway."
"Then at least let us replace it for you," Piper spoke up, "Since Jace decided to throw Leo through it."
"It was an accident! But, yeah. Least we can do," Jason agreed, "Sorry again."
Annabeth shook her head, "We can talk about it later."
"In other words," Thalia spoke over any others who wanted to, getting straight to what Annabeth had been trying to say, "She doesn't want to think about it anymore so drop it and let's get on with our night. Deal?"
There was a chorus of other "deal"s and they went back to doing what they had been prior to eating. Drinking more. And really, why wouldn't they? This time, it was just a good old fashioned game of cup pong. Some people played, namely Thalia and Will, while others chatted around the living room or played their own little games. Unsurprisingly, or still actually rather surprisingly, Will and Thalia were at each other's throats during the game, trying to prove which patron was a better archer - especially as throwing ping pong balls into cups was roughly one to one with archery. Apparently. Results were inconclusive to say the least, especially given that they were often playing doubles with someone else on each team.
Still though, it was all rather quite fun. Sure sure, Thalia and Will had nearly come to blows a few times, but that was about par for the course. Diana thought it was rather amusing actually. Percy seemed to think as much as well, at least from what she could tell. He'd even participated in a few rounds, though Thalia had refused to let him be on her team. Of course, Diana had explained that he should be on the team representing her, but the demigoddess wasn't hearing any of it - and she was drunk enough to disregard her patron at the time.
Diana had laughed when Thalia had deadpan refused to let Percy be on her team. Percy, naturally, didn't seem to mind all that much. Why would he after all? The goddess was mostly certain that he knew where they stood, with the caveat being that he still couldn't seem to grasp the fact that she rather quite liked him more than any friend ever should. He'd find out some day, she imagined.
"Excuse me."
Diana was brought out of her thoughts by someone gently speaking behind her. She didn't have to turn to know it was the daughter of Athena, but it would have been rather rude not to acknowledge her.
"Something wrong?" Diana asked, turning towards the girl. She seemed a bit more composed than she had the last time they'd interacted, and a good deal more tired as well - even despite the fact that it'd only been about an hour.
"Nothing like that," Annabeth shook her head, "Can we talk for a minute?"
That caught her off guard for sure, but the goddess didn't let it show. Instead, she offered a polite smile that didn't quite look natural, though she doubted anyone outside of her brother or best friend would notice, "Of course."
Annabeth stood there awkwardly for a moment before gesturing towards the kitchen again, "It's more of a, uh, private thing."
And so, they found themselves not quite secluded, but not near enough anyone for them to notice and approach. Percy had glanced up from the conversation he'd been having but the goddess had waved him off. Now, all of her attention was on the hostess.
"Is something wrong?" Diana asked quietly.
"Nothing like that," Annabeth shook her head, "Just… Wanted to talk to you."
"I see," Diana understood that much, "What about?"
It took the daughter of Athena a moment to say anything. For a moment, she looked like she regretted saying anything at all, but it was gone as soon as it came, "About Percy."
Okay. Not exactly what Diana had been expecting. But sure. She could do that.
"What about him?"
"Just," Annabeth paused for a moment, then sighed, "Maybe not talk about him. I think I've misspoken."
"That's fine," Diana offered a curt nod.
"I just wanted to ask you to take care of him."
Diana blinked. Once. Twice.
"I'm sorry?" The goddess was almost incredulous, though she fought hard not to let it show.
Annabeth rubbed her shoulder, looking away as she did, "I know - look. It's a weird request. I know. I just."
She trailed off for a moment before speaking again, looking as awkward as Diana felt, "I know he likes you a lot. And I'm pretty sure that you're really good friends with him, and this may be a bit presumptuous to say about an Olympian, but I feel like I know that it's true."
Diana didn't say anything, and the architect backtracked, "Look, I'm sorry. This went a lot better in my head. I know we're nowhere near each other in standing, and I'm acting like you're just another person or friend even and this all just went really differently than what I thought it would be and-"
"It's alright," Diana cut her off, waving her hand in a placating manner, "Just speak your mind. Stature matters little to me."
"I just. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're both very close. Right?"
The Huntress had half the mind to snap at the girl, ask her what she knew about the workings of an Olympian, but the rational, less jealous part of her reigned that in, "That's correct. Is that an issue for you?"
"No," Annabeth shook her head, "Not really."
"Not really."
"I have no right to be upset over who he's friends with and who he spends time with," Annabeth explained softly, "He's his own person. But, I still care about him."
Diana stared at the girl, forcing herself not to bring up how she'd let that half-wit god torment him in front of her, "Right. I see."
"Yeah," Annabeth nodded more to herself than anything, "I just. I fucked up. Badly. I mistreated him and was just generally terrible to him."
Diana nodded, letting the girl continue, though she very badly wanted to comment that she had indeed fucked up.
"I know that. Took a while, but I realized that. But damage done right?" The girl seemed like she was rambling a little. It wasn't nearly as cute as when Percy did it. Really, it only served to annoy the goddess, but so be it, "I just wanted to ask you, and I know I have no right for a whole host of reasons, but I can't do it anymore. And you seem like you care about him. And I wanted to ask you to take care of him."
"He's more than capable," Diana found herself wanting to see exactly where the girl's sentiment stemmed from.
"Yeah. I know. But sometimes he doesn't. I think you've seen that too. And I just," Annabeth sighed, "Want him to know that he's cared for."
"And you are asking me?"
Annabeth looked up at the goddess, "Yeah. I'm sure it's plenty disrespectful, and quite presumptuous and all that, but I need you to hear me."
Diana could respect that more than she wanted to admit. Honestly, it wasn't much of a surprise that she'd say that given that Perseus had liked her as much as he had.
"I'm not about to be turned into an animal, am I?"
Diana, not being able to help herself, chuckled. It was more to herself than anything, really, "No, no. I respect you more for speaking your mind than I dislike you for being insolent."
"But you still don't like me."
The architect was pushing her a little bit, Diana would admit, but the goddess didn't want to let her know that.
"In so many words, no," the goddess idly examined her nails
Annabeth sighed, "I'm not surprised. Could I ask why?"
"You could," Diana stared at the girl for a moment, "You've summed it up rather well on your own, I think."
"Yeah," Annabeth sighed again, looking down at the floor, "Yeah."
"Still," Diana found herself saying, "At least you seem like you're aware of what you've done."
"But too little too late."
"True," Diana nodded in agreement. There was no reason to lie about it, "But, I respect you more for speaking to me."
"Really?"
"I'm friends with Perseus for many reasons, you know." Diana couldn't keep the annoyance out of her voice, "I'd be surprised if his former partner didn't share some of the same values. It's one of the reasons he and I get along."
"Right," Annabeth looked awkward, "Sorry."
"Was that all?"
Annabeth made a face.
Percy noticed as soon as the two women walked in, noting the somewhat annoyed look on his friend's face as she came to stand beside him in the living room.
"Something up?" He asked quietly, bending down just a bit so that he could whisper to her.
Diana rolled her eyes, "I'll tell you later. What did I miss?"
Percy grinned, "Not much honestly. Just a few games and drinks."
Diana nodded, seeming to relax a little, "Want something?"
"What do you mean?"
"To drink," Diana asked, summoning something for herself.
"No thanks," Percy chuckled, "Taking it slow tonight. Or trying to anyway."
He shot a meaningful look over towards the coffee table which was still stacked high with cups.
"Right right," Diana laughed, "I suppose I didn't make that easy on you."
"Not at all," Percy said as they looked back towards the group.
It seemed that Thalia was arguing with Jason about something, but Percy couldn't tell what it was about for the life of him. Still, he and Diana were more than content to watch them bicker. A few of the others had split off into other conversations. Hazel was talking to Jason and Piper about something, Calypso was chatting with Annabeth, and so on so forth.
"Do you mind if I catch up with Hazel?" Percy asked softly, gazing over towards the girl, "I haven't seen them in a while."
"Why would I?" Diana smiled as she sipped her drink, "I can manage just fine on my own, you know."
"I guess I phrased it wrong," Percy rubbed the back of his head, "And by that I mean I didn't ask you the question I meant to. Do you want to join me to talk to them?"
Diana laughed quietly, "That is rather different. And sure, I wouldn't mind that at all."
The son of the sea scratched at the corner of his mouth, smiled, and then steered the both of them over towards the couch that the daughter of Pluto was sitting on.
"Mind if we cut in?" Percy asked as they both sat down on the opposite couch.
"Not at all," Hazel smiled brightly, "We were just chatting."
"What about?" Percy asked conversationally, "Anything I should be concerned about?"
"Nothing like that," Hazel laughed.
"Just asking about their trip," Piper explained, "Honestly, I'm a bit jealous."
"Where'd you guys go?" Percy asked.
"Europe," Hazel explained, "Just traveled around."
"Sounds like what Diana and I are doing right now."
"Should we be planning a wedding for you too then?" Jason joked.
"What?" Percy made a face, "Am I missing a joke?"
Piper snickered while Hazel answered, "Frank and I are getting married."
Percy gaped for a moment, unsure of what to say. Diana took over though, quickly filling the silence, "Congratulations! When is your wedding?"
"Roughly a month or so from now," Hazel said thoughtfully, "The fourteenth of the coming month."
"That's wonderful," Diana smiled, "When did he propose?"
"Right around the new year," Hazel smiled happily, "We were in the Alps for the weekend and he asked me right around dusk."
"That's great," Percy's mouth felt dry, "Where are you guys getting married?"
"Father offered us one of Lady Proserpina's gardens near Camp Jupiter," Hazel explained happily, "It'll be a small thing."
"Better find yourself a date, Perce," Jason grinned.
"Yeah, you'll be there, right?" Piper asked.
Percy looked over towards Hazel who nodded enthusiastically, "If you can make it? You're invited of course."
Percy felt a flush of heat rush through him, and he found it a little hard to speak, "Yeah of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Hazel beamed, "That's great! I'm sure Frank will be happy to hear that as well."
"Yeah," Percy nodded slowly. Diana set a hand on his thigh comfortingly. The others either didn't notice or were smart enough to not point it out, "How long has this been a thing?"
"A few months at this point," Hazel answered easily, taking a moment to recall the exact date.
Percy swallowed as the daughter of Pluto explained how it had all gone down, and Diana seemed to notice his discomfort as he did. Slowly, he felt Diana's hand creep up his back as they sat together, rubbing soft circles as he did. While Hazel recounted it, the goddess leaned in towards him, whispering softly into his ear, "Just breathe. It's okay."
What's up! Been a minute but wanted to get this chapter out. University has started up so that's fun and I'm really enjoying my classes. Finally done travelling, but surprisingly, I feel a bit more inspired after settling back down a bit so that's pretty interesting. Anyway, just wanted to get this out! To the fun stuff though!
To kikinder: Yeah using the phone was absolutely awful. And as always, love hearing from you and I'm always glad to hear that you've been enjoying. I enjoy the sort of mundaneness of this story. I feel like there aren't a whole lot, so I'm happy to be writing it. To TomorrowCarpe Diem: Thanks mate! Love to hear that. To tieflin: Super happy to hear that you're enjoying the music, and I get you with the email issues. I've been having some trouble with the ffn ui on the website so I wonder if they're linked. To Aimlessamo: Haha yeah I've actually gotten those written out. Just need to get to them at some point. Not sure where exactly they'll fit in, but I actually enjoyed trying a different writing style than my traditional style. Still! Glad to hear from you as always. To TakeYoCookie: Love that song, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. To IsItReallyTho: Ah unlucky mate but maybe you've got a chance on this one! And yeah, I'm trying to show healing, but it's still a rather gradual thing and that's why I wanted to call a little attention to it. To danielchester998: Thanks! To the Guest: Thank you! That's probably not praise I deserve, but it makes me super happy to hear about that. And to Remvis: Glad to hear from you! And, more than that, love to hear that you're still enjoying it! Thank you for reading. It always makes my day to see people reading this story, so thank you! And don't apologize for not being around! I'm just happy to hear that you're still enjoying so thank you again! It really does make my day!
Hope you guys enjoy!