Hello there!

Back for another PJO story!

I am alive! Maybe not on time, but alive still!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own PJO, HOO, or any other amazing creations from Uncle Rick. I do, however, own a handful of characters that will appear in this story.

ON THE FIC!

Chapter VI: Cuddling Love

-X-

Annabeth opened her eyes slowly, feeling warm and comfortable. The bright light was somewhat blocked by the curtain, but she could still see the morning sun shining down on them. She felt a finger trail soft circles on her naked shoulder, and she snuggled closer to the nude chest she was sleeping on.

"Good morning," she whispered against the tanned skin, pressing a kiss to it.

"Good morning," his deep voice, roughened by sleep, answered her immediately. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she moved up slowly so that she could look into his brilliant green eyes.

Annabeth leaned down to steal another kiss from him. He grinned and entwined his fingers in her hair, tugging her closer and turning them so that the blonde was on her back, and Percy hovering over her. He pulled away and straddled her.

"Hey there."

"Hey..." she grinned. "What time is it?"

"Close to 9am."

"Then we need to get going, no?" she raised an eyebrow. "Your mom shouldn't be kept waiting."

"I talked to Nico last night, he agreed to shadow-travel us to my mom's place," he grinned.

"Oh, did he?" She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's very nice of him..."

"You know what that means?" Percy leaned down, using one hand to part Annabeth's legs, and settled between them.

"Do tell."

"We can have a little last night," he moved his hips against hers. "What do you say?"

"I love that idea," she nodded, and tugged him down for a kiss.

º

"You're up." Jason noticed as he walked back inside his room.

Piper was in the midst of waking up, stretching her arms above her head. She smiled sleepily at him and let out a groan when her back popped. Jason smirked and walked to his bed, sitting down on it. She let her arms fall to the side and Jason took the hand closest to him and kissed her knuckles.

"Morning..." she sighed.

"Good morning, beautiful." he whispered. "How did you sleep?"

"Really good. You?" her voice was small and sweet, and Jason cradled her hand in his.

"Really good too." he sighed.

"Where did you go?" she cocked her head to the side.

"Had to take Reyna's call." he explained. "She sends her good wishes and Merry Christmas."

"Was is about the application?" she asked.

"...nothing gets by you, huh?" he bit his lip.

"You should know better by now, Grace." she winked.

"I should, shouldn't I?" Jason nodded. "Yeah, it was about the application. They said yes, Pipes."

"When?"

"Middle February. I have to show up on the 24th January for presentation and to fill out all kinds of legal documents... and the course starts in February."

"I see." she sat up on the bed and bit her lip.

"Please don't be mad." he gulped.

"I'm not, Jason." she smiled. "This is what you want, right?"

"Yes."

"Then go for it. I'll support you all the way." she squeezed his hand. "It doesn't really matter to me if you're three doors down, or halfway across the country. You're still my Jason, you're never going to stop being my Jason."

"I love you, Piper." Jason cupped her face and pressed a kiss to her mouth. "I really, really love you."

"I love you too, babe," she sighed happily.

He licked his lips and captured her lips in another kiss, putting more pressure on this one. Piper's fingers were quick to entwine in his blond hair, and Jason was hasty in pushing her down onto the bed. The young woman welcomed his advances, tugging his shirt over his head and raking her nails down his back. Jason hissed, parting his lips and pulling away slightly.

"You okay, babe?" Piper frowned. "You usually like it when I..."

"Yeah, I am. I do. Hum..." he pushed the sheet away.

Piper was wearing his shirt, but Jason knew that, due to last night's activities, that was all she was wearing. She raised an eyebrow, and the blond flushed at the thought that ran across his mind.

"What are you thinking?"

"I... it's bad."

"I'm guessing it's kinky," she giggled when his ears turned red. "What is it?"

"... you still have those socks that Kayla gave you as a gag gift for your birthday?"

"The black ones with the white stripes? That reach my thighs?"

"...yes."

"Okay. What else?" she smirked.

"...just that," he whispered and looked away.

"Okay." Piper nodded and pushed him away.

Jason collapsed on the bed and took a deep breath. Piper rummaged through her drawers, and he heard a small victorious 'aha' and a rustle of fabric. He looked at his girlfriend and bit his lip, watching as his shirt reached just below her ass, and the socks squeezed her thighs a little bit, leaving that fleshy bump of the strip of naked skin showing.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Not perfect yet," he tapped his lower stomach. "Come here."

She nodded and climbed on the bed, crawling towards him with a saucy smile. She raised up and sat on his lower stomach, moving her hips to make herself more comfortable. Jason immediately grasped her thighs, watching as the flesh dented with his grip. He swallowed hard and looked into Piper's kaleidoscope eyes.

"This better?" she spoke in a soft, smooth voice, the kind of voice that always succeeded in bringing him down to his knees.

"Much." he bit his lip. "You wanna know the difference between you and my glasses, Pipes?"

"Sure."

"My glasses tend to sit a bit higher on my face." he chuckled as a flush of pink flooded her cheeks.

"Oh, okay, yes." She bit her lip. "That was smooth."

"You think?" Piper nodded. "Then come here and find out."

"Jason, you sure?"

"Oh, yeah," he smirked and moved his hands so he grabbed her butt, and tugged her forward. "Come here."

"Okay!"

º

"I love you."

Faye opened her eyes and smiled sweetly. She saw a pair of blazing brown eyes staring at her, taking in every aspect of her figure. She was lying on her side, facing him, and she felt his fingers trace invisible patterns on her skin. She snuggled deeper into her pillow and sighed happily.

"Isn't that a great way of waking up...?" she trailed off. "Good morning, babe."

"Good morning, cariño." he moved closer to kiss her forehead.

"Hum, why are you dressed?" she frowned, fingering the cotton of his white shirt.

"Had to step outside for a little bit, love." he took a deep breath. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"What happened?" she frowned.

"...nightmare," he admitted. "Had to burn it all away."

"What was it about?" She slowly sat up, and he followed her.

"Everyone. And the war. And a fucked-up sense of humor." Leo leaned against the headboard, and Faye knelt next to him.

"You're gonna have to be more specific, Leo." She took his hand.

"You know how I always say the world is one step from going up in flames?" She nodded, and he continued. "It did. Literally. And guess who blew the first one?"

"Leo." Faye took a deep breath and moved to sit on his lap. "Look at me."

"I've done it before, you know? Burn my entire world to ashes."

"No, you did not. That was Gaea, and that bitch can burn in Tartarus for all eternity." she took his face in her hands. "You're not to blame for that. You were a baby, and you were terrified."

"Who's to say I'm not going to do it again?" he looked into her eyes, hands resting on her thighs. "How do I know I'm not going to burn my world to ashes again?"

"Because you're stronger than that." Faye smiled sweetly. "I believe in you. Not only that, but I trust you. With all my heart. And I know you'll never do anything to harm the people you care about."

"I have to tell you something," Leo spoke quietly.

"Of course. What is it?"

"... I hold myself back with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... that whenever I'm with you, in any shape or aspect... I have to hold myself back. I have to keep myself in check," he gulped. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" she frowned.

"Because I can't hurt you."

"Why would you hurt me?"

"Because this..." he brought one hand up and produced a flickering flame, "is always waiting to come out. And I know you love how warm I am, but... sometimes, when we're closer... It's not just me. It's..."

"The fire."

"Yes. And... I'm terrified, Faye."

"What brought this on?" she gulped. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"I told you. I had a nightmare... that my world went up in flames."

"Leo..." She bit her lip and looked into his eyes, rimmed with tears. "Don't say that."

"I love you, Faye," he gasped out. "I can't hurt you."

"You won't. I trust you, Leo. With all my heart."

"But I don't trust myself."

"So what? You wanna break up? Is that it?" she gasped out. "You think that will solve it? 'Hey, if I don't touch her, I won't hurt her!'? Things don't work like that, Leo. There's a lot more to pain than just the physical one. And I know you won't hurt me."

"I don't wanna break up. But if-!"

"There are no ifs, Valdez. You're either with me or without me. You either want me or you don't. Which one is it going to be?"

"Of course I want to be with you!"

"Good. Then let's work towards that," she cupped his cheeks and spoke in a softer voice. "We can do this, Leo. I don't want to lose you, and I refuse to do it because of your own insecurities. We can find a way for you to be comfortable."

"I am. I just... need to rein myself in sometimes," he gulped.

"Cálmate," she said with a kind smile, "We got this."

"Have me."

"Always," she nodded, and pressed her lips against his.

º

A strangely high-pitched beep woke Nico up, and he glared into the darkness. There was a sliver of sunlight streaming through an opening in the blinds, but he ignored it. He heard a groan and a shuffle, and felt a hand tap the mattress. It didn't succeed in its mission, so he just huffed. Nico found the criminal phone and picked it up, swiping the screen.

Once the alarm disappeared, the phone unlocked itself, and Nico frowned when it opened on the messages app. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, but his eyes did not deceive him. He was staring at an opened text conversation between Will and Faye, or at least he assumed that 'Fem Robin Hood' was Faye.

And a screenshot of his conversation the night before with Faye stared back at him.

It was immediately followed by a typed message from her that said, 'Push him to the edge.'

Nico felt a sting in his chest. The private conversation that he had had with Faye, where he had poured his heart out for her eyes, and her eyes only, she had shared it with the person they had been talking about! The balls, the audacity, the... deep knowledge of his person.

Oh, who was he kidding? He knew perfectly well that he was too much of a chicken to be able to tell Will all that had Faye not intervened. Had she not told him to push him, to force his hand, he would have never spoken up or acted out. He huffed a smile. That damn daredevil acted aloof and said she didn't care, but she sure showed otherwise.

He felt an arm tightening around his waist and pulling him closer to a warm chest. Nico smiled and put the phone down on the bedside table, snuggling closer to the body behind him. He was good now.

A/N: Thank you for reading.

I hope you like it, and leave a review with your thoughts!

LoneeWolf :)