Separation Anxiety

With so little to look forward to, especially when it comes to waking up in the morning, imagine my shock upon being reminded that I wasn't in bed with only one woman. Rather, I was still nestled between two.

Both Piper and Annabeth curled up to their respective side of my body, each clutching an arm as if I was the only thing tethering them to the real world. If only I could believe it was real. More like surreal.

Morning noises of the west coast whispered through the windows, from the call of seagulls to the crashes of the tide. What little light there was fluttered through the thick draperies. The two demigoddesses gave no indication of waking anytime soon.

Probably for the best. I need some time to figure out what happened last night.

And so, there I stayed, trapped in the warm embrace of my two lovers, my thoughts solely focused on the events of the night before. Not the lovemaking, though I may have slipped up once or twice whenever one of them shifted in place or let out a sleepy sigh. However, I strove to keep my thoughts on my dreams, and what they foretold. Too much of it left my mouth dry, particularly my dream with Aphrodite. I finally had a confession, a culprit. Given the events of the days passed, I couldn't have received a better gift, except perhaps a time machine.

The remaining dreams left me conflicted. Athena's rampage would never end unless her daughter was finally given justice. One would think it would be as simple as telling her what Aphrodite told me. Unfortunately, the love goddess made a good point; who would believe me?

Maybe if I swear upon the River Styx, she'll take me seriously.

Even upon thinking that did my blood run cold. The very knowledge I received suddenly seemed more like a Mist induced hallucination than truth. Would I really be willing to stake my life (and possibly afterlife) on the information from the night before?

Then there was Artemis. For all of her faults, the moon goddess was not without remorse. Even though she never said what she needed to say, her intention remained nonetheless. Given her current state, maybe I could turn in my newfound information to her. No doubt, discovering the one behind the loss of her hunters would give her a new mark, one that wasn't me.

"It's too early for you to be thinking so much," a sleepy voice mumbled.

I turned to see the source, only to find Piper nuzzling my shoulder.

"How'd you know…?"

"I'm no satyr, but I'm pretty good at reading emotions." She yawned. "Besides, your face gets all pouty and scrunched up when you're thinking."

I gave an honest effort to retort, but came up empty-handed in replies. Fortunately (or not), someone came up with one for me.

"The way his lip curls almost makes you want to kiss him," Annabeth said, releasing my arm to stretch out. "So," she continued, "what's on your mind?"

Though I may have reservations about telling the other gods about my newfound information, the same could not be said about Annabeth and Piper. Honestly, how could I not trust them? Annabeth and I have both gone through the end of the world together… twice! And Piper, while I may not have talked with her as much as I would have liked to during our quest, she's more than proven herself as a trustworthy ally time and time again. Lest I forget, her mother is the one who confessed to pulling the strings. All things considered, she took the news pretty well.

"'Twists and turns,' she said. Pfft, I'll give her some twists and turns." Piper growled to herself as she slashed her dagger across an expensive looking painting for the fifteenth time. I won't lie, there's something quite distracting about a beautiful woman swinging around a knife while completely naked.

While she continued attacking the colorful image, Annabeth made herself at home on one of the nearby couches. Given her more modest approach to apparel, it should come as no surprise that her choice of clothing consisted of only a bra and panties. It was almost like she was trying to show off or something.

"While this isn't exactly a surprise, we need to consider how we'll proceed. Information like this would be disastrous should the wrong people hear it first." Annabeth crossed her legs and put on her signature thinking face. "We need to tell someone who wouldn't gain anything from another Olympian civil war."

Without even a second of hesitation, I spoke." Hestia. She's already offered her help in this, especially when we first considered Aphrodite as a culprit."

For a few seconds, she pondered over my words before nodding in satisfaction. "She'll be perfect."

"That may not be enough," Piper interjected, her body covered in a sheen of sweat from her rage fueled exertion moments prior. "Just because we tell her about the dream doesn't mean she'll believe it. Not unless she got a confession from the source." She crossed her arms. "And I don't know about you, but I doubt my mom would outright incriminate herself."

Annabeth grimaced. "While I don't like the idea, we could swear upon the—"

"No," I said simply. "For all we know, this is all some elaborate setup by Morpheus and nothing from my dreams were real."

Annabeth quirked her eyebrow and frowned, but didn't offer any rebuttal.

"What about Apollo?" Piper said. "Isn't he the god of truth or something like that?"

Once more, Annabeth seemed at a loss for words, as was I. I considered the possibility. Given the events in the dream, he was already suffering because of Aphrodite's actions. If anyone would help us…

"Okay, we'll tell them both," I said. "So, do we go there now?"

"Probably not a good idea," Annabeth said. "With my mom still searching for information, we would undoubtedly run into her; and she won't hesitate to squeeze any information out of us. Let's head back to Galínios. I have an idea to draw her away."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "In the meantime, we should probably get dressed and get some breakfast. I could do with some french toast after last night."

Annabeth snickered but nodded her agreement.

They didn't have any french toast. Or rather, the staff weren't willing to make any. Despite my neverending requests — which got whiny even by my standards — the house staff seemed keen on preventing me from enjoying my taste buds' request. Instead, they forced us to eat fresh oatmeal with a variety of fruits and spices mixed in.

Why does it have to taste so good? Let me stay mad!

Tristan McLean was nowhere to be seen, but that came as no surprise. Piper wasn't fazed by his absence. She simply pinned the blame on the ever busy life of a movie star.

Breakfast came to a rather abrupt finish, per the request of the staff. Apparently, even the daughter of their employer wouldn't take priority over some well dressed businessmen.

Once more, we found ourselves at the base of the rocky cliffs and blue coasts of California. That time, we weren't waiting to surf — more like… jet ski.

"I'll never understand how he appears out of nowhere," Piper marveled.

"Think of it like underworld creatures and shadow traveling. Ocean based creatures can travel great distances in seconds as long as they have a body of water to appear in.

No sooner did she say that did Rainbow burst from the water, showering us in a prismatic mist, shimmering in the morning light.

I recoiled, taken aback. "Wait, so he could just randomly appear in our swimming pool?"

Annabeth frowned. "Well, technically yes. But given the choice, do you think he'd want to."

Understanding he was the subject at hand, Rainbow whinnied his agreed sentiment with my girlfriend.

No sooner did we find ourselves clinging to his neck. No sooner did we find ourselves descending beneath the waves in a flurry of bubbles.

Years ago, when I left the island of Ogygia, Calypso remained on the shore, hands clasped before her, watching over my departure. Imagine my surreal shock upon observing that very moment in reverse. There she stood, ankle-deep in the surf, her eyes so keenly fixed on us that I could feel her desperate gaze long before I could see her face.

"Uh oh," Piper muttered, her chin resting on my shoulder. "She's not normally this agitated."

Upon our arrival, Calypso wasted no time in greeting us with her own over-enthusiastic manner. The second each of us dismounted from Rainbow, she tackled us in a bear hug strong enough to make her dad proud.

"Hey, we missed you t—"

Her lips silenced mine before another word could be said.

"You're late," she said through the kiss, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Our fault," Annabeth said. "We kept him busy last night."

Calypso pouted, boring into my soul with her bottomless eyes. She raised herself to her tiptoes and positioned her lips over my ear. "You're going to give me my fill today."

She pulled away. Despite the smile adorning her lips, her eyes challenged me to say otherwise.

I pressed a kiss to her forehead. "When we have time, absolutely."

A pout tugged at her lips again, only to be replaced by a coy smile. "And I'll make sure we get it." She snaked her hand into mine and clasped it vigorously. "But until then, you're not leaving my sight."

"Oh, Styx," Annabeth sighed, unable to hide her smirk.

"Alright, lovebirds," Piper said. "We've got work to do."

I nodded. Much to Calypso's evident dismay, there were a number of visits to make.

Taking into account the events of the past few days, my number one priority visit came in the form of my number one mortal lover (and longtime "it's complicated" type of friend).

Rachel seemed no worse for wear, at least on the surface. She was busy undoing the damage inflicted to her room the day before. Most of the furniture was restored, though each piece definitely had more character than when we first arrived. At the moment, she was scraping away at the walls with a putty knife, dashing away at the black paint until it fell in flakes or patches to the floor beneath her. The nymphs would certainly have a field day with cleaning up the mess.

"Do you need any help?" Calypso asked.

True to her word, the titaness never let me out of her sight, or let go of my hand for that matter. She seemed rather intent on accompanying me everywhere I went, including my quick trip to the bathroom.

Rachel glanced back, but continued her labors. "I'm fine. Thanks anyways."

Unconvinced, I marched up to her while releasing my hand from Calypso's grip. A second later, I scooped up the fiery oracle and tossed her over my shoulder. Considering the putty knife still in her hands, I'd say it was a dangerous move on my part.

She squirmed and struggled to escape my grip, but thankfully didn't use her weapon on me. Of course, if deathly glares and words could kill, I'd already be halfway to Hades.

Calypso watched on with a mixture of longing and bewilderment, her hands clasped together at her waist.

Seconds later, I plopped Rachel onto her bed, which earned me a none too pleased grunt and a few muttered curses. Glaring daggers at me, she crossed her arms and rapped her fingers along her bicep.

"Will you let me finish?"

"Maybe when I'm sure you won't turn this inward."

She frowned and shot a glance toward Calypso. "Is this really the best time…?"

I gestured for the titaness to join us, to which she hurriedly complied. "She has more experience with magic and fate than anyone else here, except for maybe Khione. If anyone can help us, it'll be her."

Calypso's cheeks flared, her grip on my hand tightened.

Rachel groaned and threw herself back onto her tousled bed covers. "Fine. But I don't know what there is to discuss. We both heard it. We both don't have a clue about what it means. We both know it's useless to try and solve it before—"

"It's about Annabeth."

If ever there was a dangerous line to give her, that was it. Rachel didn't necessarily share in the same jealousy that Annabeth did the year before, but the two still had this odd rivalry that never quite died down. Call me desperate, but I needed to get her attention.

"Like you said, we both heard it. 'The lord will fall to his lover's virtue.' Look at these past few days."

"We don't know if it's about…" She trailed off, groaning in frustration.

"What are you two talking about?" Calypso asked after watching us like a tennis match.

You should have told her that already, genius!

"I got hijacked by a pissed off oracle," Rachel mumbled, leaving Calypso even more confused.

For the next few minutes, Rachel and I explained the events surrounding her position as Oracle, along with what her duties entailed. Needless to say, Calypso responded by targeting the one aspect that seemed unimportant.

"So you had the opportunity and drive to have him all to yourself, but you swore him off instead? And now you have to share him with a bunch of other women?"

Rachel pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose; I shared in her misery. "Yes, I did. I might be able to see into the future, but it's fleeting. Whenever I try to make the spirit of the Oracle work for me, I can get a relatively clear vision of things that seem insignificant, along with a splitting headache. Her powers aren't mine to use; I'm just the means of channeling it."

Calypso reclined onto the bed, throwing her legs over mine. "I… I might have an idea about how to help. The magic I use isn't mine either, but that of the aurae. There are a few exercises I could teach you to help with the strain."

Rachel sighed, stretching out on her bed. "I'm willing to try anything at this point. For now though, we need to focus on the prophecy."

I rested my hand on Rachel's. "Dinner. We tell everyone."

She nodded, grimacing. Seconds later, that grimace turned into a sly grin. She grabbed my wrist and hauled me up from her bed, towards the door, inadvertently dragging Calypso along, who refused to let go.

"In the meantime," she said, her voice far too playful and airy for the recent conversation, "I still have a lot of work to do, so why don't you find someone else to pester."

By the time I turned around, the only part of Rachel's room I could see was the recently repaired door.

"Perhaps she needs more time before speaking further about this," Calypso suggested, gently massaging my hand.

"Maybe," I replied, pinching my nose. "Still, there's a lot that needs to be discussed. Like why the Oracle…"

"Yes?" Calypso pressed closer to me, lacing her fingers through mine and giving me a doe-eyed stare.

Like why the Oracle practically ordered me to kiss her before giving the prophecy.

"It's nothing." I turned my head away. "Well, time for another check-up."

"Oh," she mumbled. "Of course. Lead the way."

Despite the awkward silence that followed, Calypso remained right beside me. Her hand, despite its clamminess, refused to release mine, and her eyes remained low, brows furrowed. The occasional mutter could be heard, as if she were arguing with herself, and losing that argument.

But my attention was focused elsewhere.

Too long had I spent without checking on Hazel. Given the recent events, I almost managed to convince myself that I had an excuse. Almost.

The demigoddess in question seemed startled when we entered her room; probably because she was deep in conversation with Reyna.

"Percy?" She glanced towards Calypso, then back towards Reyna.

"Right on cue," Reyna said.

I shrugged. "I tend to show up at—"

"Not you," she interrupted, eyes rolling. Her head nodded to Calypso. "We could use your help."

Calypso's grip tightened. She brought her hand to her mouth, as if she were trying to either hide her expression or chew her nails. "My help?"

Hazel nodded. "You use magic too, right?"

She pulled her hand from her mouth and warily gazed upon her open palm. "In a manner of speaking, though it's not really my own."

Reyna tilted her head. "Meaning…?"

"It's the wind spirits, not me. I can communicate with them, but they are the ones who choose to listen or not."

Hazel frowned. "What about your singing?"

"That… that is actually my own inherent magic." Her grip tightened.

"Fantastic!" Reyna glanced back towards me. "You two didn't come here to discuss magic. What brings you to this lovely corner of paradise?"

I shifted my weight a bit, glancing around the room. "Well, I see you've cleaned up the—"

"Percy." Reyna's gaze hardened. "Stop stalling."

"Okay, okay. I came to check on Hazel."

CRACK!

The demigoddess went rigid. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Reyna crossed her arms with pursed lips. "What happened?"

I glanced towards Hazel, who attempted to hide herself behind a pillow.

The former praetor let out a sigh. "Okay. I didn't want to do this." She strolled around the bed to Hazel, and pressed her hand to her shoulder. A few seconds later, she pulled away, looking both drained and amused. "Well, I can't say that I'd know how to react if Scipio came barging in on me, but…" She shot me a teasing gaze. "If my time with Percy is anything to go by, you'll be wishing you didn't wait around."

"Well, I don't want to brag…"

"Oh, shush. Don't let your head get too big." A playful smile cracked from beneath her stony countenance.

Hazel peeked at me from behind her pillow, squeezed it tightly for a moment, and released it. "Can we focus on the bigger issue?"

I frowned. "And that would be…?"

She took a deep breath, fanning her face as she did. "While you were gone, I decided to practice controlling the Mist. Nothing too major. Only trying to cover up the cracks in the floor and the like."

"What cracks in the…?"

No sooner did I ask did my vision seem to readjust, revealing a number of cracks webbing the floor, along with numerous holes.

"Nevermind," I said.

"In any case, while I was practicing, I felt the same kind of warring pressure that I did when I faced Pasiphaë. It felt like… like something was trying to win over me. Like the island itself was trying to overrule my power with its own."

"That's around the time she came to me," Reyna said. "With my ability to lend strength to other people, we wanted to check whether or not we could defeat it and reduce it down to its source. You know, because if we dissolve the magic, maybe we could…"

Escape. She never said it, but her words were clear. To no surprise of my own, they were trying to escape.

The words of Aphrodite came back to me. 'Do you realize how much energy and effort it would take to place a veil of aphrodisiacs over an entire island?' If doing something like that would take too much effort, then I doubted she was responsible for the magic keeping everyone here. Before I could determine a possible culprit, along came Calypso.

"You can't break it," she said. "Trust me, I've tried. For thousands of years, I tried to escape. There's only so much that someone can do by themself alone on an island. But to actually escape it, you would need a power that rivals, if not surpasses, the Fates."

Both of their heads fell.

"I'm sorry," Calypso said, her voice dropping off. "Perhaps you could come up with something I don't know about. I am, after all, only one person."

She tried for an encouraging smile, but even I could see the strain on her face as she held it.

Hazel and Reyna shared a glance before nodding.

"Possibly," Reyna said.

In an effort to change the subject, I veered right back to my original purpose for paying Hazel a visit.

"So, you're sure you're okay?"

She fanned her face. "Yes. Now… could we not discuss… you know."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be embarrassed. None of us got the first time we were hoping for." Her eyes gleamed. "But he certainly doesn't fall too short of what we wanted."

I opened my mouth to retort, but thought better of it. Of all the battles to fight, this one certainly wasn't it.

"Well, I'll go ahead and leave you to it. Let me know if you make any developments."

I attempted to have Calypso stay with them, given how useful her magical knowledge could be, but she tightened her grip, making it quite clear that she wasn't going to let me go that easily.

"What was Hazel so embarrassed about?" Calypso asked as we neared the kitchen. "We all know what takes place here."

"Nothing," I replied, trying to respect what little privacy Hazel's love life had left. "Something I'm sure we'll laugh about down the line."

As I made to continue forward, Calypso halted in place, arms locked at her side. With my hand in hers, I jerked back with her.

She stood in place, shivering as she stared at me. "Don't do that," she said, her voice, tremulous.

I frowned and took a step closer. "What?"

Lurching forward, she threw her arms around me and let out a shaky breath. "Don't keep pushing me away." She nuzzled my chest. "I know I've been clingy these past few days, but… but…"

Nothing more could be said before she let loose a choked sob. And then the waterworks started. Shaking in place, she wept, her hands clawing at my back in a desperate effort to somehow pull me closer.

Through her sobs, she tried speaking, but her words were so distorted I couldn't begin to make them out.

"Hey, it's okay." I stroked her hair as she let loose, unsure of what to say.

"It's always one more time," she blubbered. "Always one more time."

For a few minutes longer, I held her as she wept. Only when she started gasping for air did I lead her into the kitchen and fetch her a glass of water.

"Drink slowly."

She attempted to, but her hands were so shaky I needed to assist her. When she finally finished it, she managed to calm her breathing enough for me to fully understand her.

"I know," she said. "I know you have responsibilities. I know it isn't fair of me to be like this, but I can't help it. I'm so used to being alone, being left behind." Her hands trembled.

"Listen to me," I said, taking both of her hands in one and using the other to lift her chin. "I am never going to abandon you."

First, I placed a kiss on her forehead. Next, I placed one on her lips, bringing her shivering to a halt. As I pulled away, she sniffled, but gave me a doe-eyed smile. A moment later, she tackled me with a hug.

"I trust you, Percy," she said into my chest. "I don't think you understand just how much."

I rubbed her head, a soft smile on my face. "Then trust this; if there's something I don't tell you, I probably have a reason not to. Like with Hazel, I want to respect what little privacy everyone has left."

She nodded solemnly. "I… I guessed as much, but I couldn't—"

"I know. Hopefully, we'll either find a way to get everyone off of this island or finally reach a point that I won't have to leave nearly as often."

She nuzzled her cheek along my chest, and for a few minutes longer, I simply held her, saying nothing more.

"Oh!"

I turned my head to the sound to see none other than Rose walking into the kitchen, a basket of herbs in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Master. I didn't know—"

"It's alright. You're just doing your work."

Calypso let out a sigh. "I guess it's time to start preparing dinner." She tilted her head up to me. "Thank you for bearing with me. This is all still new to me."

I stroked her cheek. "I get it. We'll get through this. I promise."

She let me go and I proceeded to take my leave before stopping by Rose, who was rinsing off the herbs.

"Hey, please keep an eye on Calypso. I won't always be around for her, so I need you to be there for me, alright."

Rose stared at me wide eyed for a few seconds before shaking her head, inadvertently spilling a few petals into her basket. "I… I don't know, Master. You already know about—"

"I know, but I still trust you. Keep an eye on her for me." I pressed a kiss to her forehead and took my leave, smiling to myself as she blushed a deep green.

Taking a deep breath, I headed back to my room, eager to get a new change of clothes, given that I'd been in my current set for over a day, and had quite the adventure in them.

No sooner had I walked it did I slip and faceplant right onto the floor. I groaned, head fuzzy. Clearly, walking doesn't seem to be my strong suit. As I rubbed the stars from my eyes, I took notice of what I slipped on. A silver coin, roughly the size of a silver dollar; only fatter.

I picked up the drachma, gave it a once over, and let out a sigh.

Seems like I won't be getting the relaxation I was hoping for.

I contemplated changing clothes, but figured it would be redundant. So, once more, I stepped out of the room and strolled down the hallway. My thumb brushed over the coin, taking in the texture of the lightning bolt engraved into its side.