Hi! This may be a dumb idea, so feel free to ignore it.
I am a firm believer that Steve would have a flinch response of some kind to the word bullshit because of Nancy and would love to see him work through it? And all I can think of is the card game? So if someone (Eddie) had noticed his reactions to the word and tried to help him through it by having the gang play the game that would be cool? Especially if Eddie noticed pre-relationship, helps Steve through it, Steve figured out what he was doing, and by the end they’re together?
Once again, if this idea is dumb you can ignore it, I won’t be offended!
:)
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I kind of changed it up a bit because I didn't really think Steve would be super comfortable with everyone being involved because none of those kids know how to just let shit go and he wouldn't want them to look at or treat Nancy any differently. I did have to google the game because it's been a solid 10 years since I've played and I was probably not sober when I did 😂 Hope you like what I did here and will send more requests if you haven't already! - Mickala ❤️
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He’d gotten over it. He told himself he was over it. He convinced himself he was over it.
But he heard Nancy tell Mike it was bullshit that she always had to cover for him with their parents when he stayed out past curfew, and it was like she was spitting it in his face instead.
He visibly recoiled, the air in his lungs suddenly rushing out of his nose.
Nobody noticed, but it took him a minute to catch his breath, to focus back on the fact that Nancy wasn’t talking to him, wasn’t calling him bullshit.
—--
But then bullshit became Dustin’s favorite word and Steve didn’t know what to do about it.
He jokingly started saying “language” every time he said it, but Dustin was a stubborn kid, and Steve was too in his head to actually commit to getting him to stop.
He threw it around like it was nothing, and to him, it was nothing. He hadn’t had someone he loved call him bullshit.
He started to find reasons to avoid giving him rides. He would pick up extra shifts, pretend he fell asleep early, say he had a migraine. It all worked.
But he didn’t notice how Eddie started to get suspicious that he was now Dustin’s ride to everything, that Dustin was starting to worry that he’d done something to upset Steve, that Steve was ignoring everyone.
Eddie knew he had to talk to Steve alone, maybe get high with him so his defenses were down a bit, and find out what the hell was going on.
But Steve was good at this, avoiding people.
He was never completely alone at work, always a coworker or customer keeping him too busy to talk. He never answered his house phone anymore, and even though they all knew he was listening for the radio, he ignored that too. Eddie tried just showing up at his house at random times when he knew he wasn’t working, but he either wasn’t home or was doing a great job of pretending to be asleep.
Until he got lucky and caught him as he was walking out the door one morning, probably not expecting anyone to be awake this early and standing in his driveway.
Steve startled, but pasted on that fake smile that Eddie hated.
“Hey, Eds. Didn’t know you were stopping by. Everything okay?”
“I dunno, Stevie. Is everything good?”
Steve gulped.
“Everything’s fine.”
“That’s good. I just figured I’d check since you practically went invisible on us for the last three weeks. Dustin’s considered sending Hopper for a wellness check.”
“Oh. I’m fine. Just busy, ya know?”
Eddie searched his face, already knowing he was lying.
“That’s bullshit, Steve.”
He watched as Steve curled into himself, probably not even realizing he was doing it, and confirming at least some of Eddie’s suspicions.
“What’s going on with you?”
Eddie wasn’t leaving until he had answers and he certainly wasn’t about to let Steve hide away.
The kids missed him, Robin missed him, Eddie missed him.
Steve looked like he was fighting back tears when he looked back up at Eddie.
“I’m sorry I’m bullshit, it’s all bullshit, and I can’t make it better, make me better.”
“What? Stevie, you’re not making any sense.”
“I keep messing everything up. Even when I try to be better, to be good, it doesn’t fucking matter because I’m still bullshit..”
And now he was crying.
Shit. What the hell?
Eddie didn’t waste any time, stepping into Steve’s space and wrapping his arms around him, pulling him into his chest and making sure he had a safe place to cry.
He got the idea that Steve had probably never had a safe place to cry before.
He slowly walked them back into the house, frowning further when he realized the front door wasn’t even locked. Was Steve actually leaving his house unlocked? After everything they’d been through, he guessed maybe a regular old robber was the least of his worries, but still.
He managed to get to the couch in the living room, slowly sitting down and pulling Steve down next to him.
Steve wasn’t crying anymore, or at least he was being much quieter, his tears soaking the shoulder of Eddie’s shirt so much it was hard to tell if more was being added.
“Stevie? You’re not bullshit.” He felt Steve flinch against him, but continued. “I’m not sure who told you that you were, but you can’t let that control you so much. You’re the best guy I’ve ever met besides Wayne and I’m still thinking he’s just the Patron Saint of Patience.”
Steve let out a small snort of laughter and Eddie considered that a win.
But his brain was still going 90 miles a minute, thoughts running laps in his head as he thought about something Robin told him a few months ago.
She didn’t tell him any details, would never betray Steve’s trust like that, but she’d mentioned that any chance of Steve getting back with Nancy had been left in the bathroom of Tina’s party.
Eddie, despite what most people thought, was pretty intelligent. He could usually connect dots even when the lines between were spiraling to other dots as a distraction.
So this particular line between what Robin said, and what Steve was saying now about how he was bullshit, suddenly connected in his mind.
“Did Nancy say that to you?”
Steve pulled away, face suddenly blank.
“It wouldn’t matter who said it if they’re right.”
“I can’t believe I thought you were still in love with her this whole time.”
“What? No. I haven’t been in love with her in years.”
“Why are you even still friends? She really said that to you?”
“We’ve moved on. We were both going through a lot and she didn’t mean it.”
“I hate to say it, Stevie, but it doesn’t seem like you’ve moved on at all.”
“What do you mean?”
Eddie watched as Steve tried to work it out on his own. Eddie loved the face he made when he was confused. He loved every face Steve made.
Snap out of it, Munson.
“Well, if hearing it in passing upsets you so much that you avoid your entire family for weeks, you aren’t over it.”
He let that sink in, watching as Steve’s face went through all the stages of grief in less than a minute.
“I’m not avoiding everyone.”
“Steve, you are. And I’m sure everyone will understand if you just explain.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Okay, then you can just say you had a busy few weeks and now you’re not.”
“Dustin says it a lot.”
“Says what?”
Eddie knew, but he needed Steve to say it. He needed him to stop associating that word with himself.
“Why are you gonna make me say it?”
“Because you need to stop thinking it’s an adjective that describes you. You’re the farthest thing from bullshit.”
Steve flinched again, but recovered quickly.
How long had this been happening that no one noticed? How long had Eddie not noticed?
“Alright! I have an idea.” Eddie got up and went to the closet in the hall that held all the stuff for when the kids came over. Movies, tapes and records, extra blankets and pillows, changes of clothes, books, school supplies, cards. Eddie grabbed the closest deck of cards and walked back to the couch. “We’re gonna call Robin and we’re gonna play a game.”
“What game?”
“Bullshit.”
Another flinch.
God, Eddie felt so stupid for not noticing this sooner, not putting the pieces together earlier.
“How will that help?”
“Because you’re going to hear the word so much, and we’re going to have so much fun, that you won’t be able to think negatively about it anymore.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
That was a possibility. It could end up making things worse, causing more stress for Steve. But if there was anything he learned from his months of therapy, it was that exposure to something negative enough would leave you feeling indifferent to it eventually.
“If it doesn’t work, you can push me into the pool with all my clothes on in the middle of winter. Deal?”
“Fine.”
They shook on it, Eddie letting his hand linger for a bit too long in Steve’s, only letting go when Steve raised his brows at him.
Eddie called Robin, who was not thrilled about having to get out of bed on a Saturday before ten, but did it anyway when Eddie explained what it was for.
She’d finally gotten her license two months ago and her mom let her use her car on weekends, so she promised to leave as soon as she was dressed.
Eddie immediately called Dustin, just to let him know Hellfire was off for the day and to tell everyone. Dustin threw a fit, said it was bullshit, said he can’t just cancel with no intention of rescheduling, and Eddie hung up on him.
He’d have a conversation with him later.
Steve had gone upstairs to change, said he wanted to be comfortable for this and his jeans and polo weren’t really lounging around clothes.
So Eddie waited for Robin, and he waited for Steve to come back downstairs, and he thought about how much he hated Nancy Wheeler in that moment.
He’d gotten close to her when he was trying to graduate. She helped him study so he could pass the finals he needed to, even without being able to be in class because of being stuck in the hospital for so long. He helped her pack for college, offering up his van as a thank you for all she’d done to help him. He called to talk with her weekly.
All this time, she was at least some of the reason that Steve had negative feelings about himself.
Sure, Eddie could guess that his parents had a lot to do with it too, but this was somehow worse.
He’d trusted Nancy.
Steve came down just as Robin was walking in the front door, bag of chips in hand.
“It’s nine in the morning. I can cook breakfast,” Steve said to her.
“Nah, chips are a necessary staple for card games no matter the time.”
No one argued with her as they sat around the kitchen table.
Eddie dealt the cards out, explaining the rules as he went, though they all had played before. He added a rule though.
“Every time someone calls bullshit on Steve, we have to say one thing that we like about him. Good with you, Robbie?”
Robin smirked. “Perfect.”
Steve didn’t argue, probably because he knew he wouldn’t win against them, so they got started.
The first round went pretty smoothly. Steve ended up never having to lie, and nobody called bullshit on him. He barely flinched when Robin called it on Eddie the first two times, and didn’t at all the third time.
But the second round started and Steve was not having any luck. He got away with his first lie, but he knew Robin could tell he got away with it and she wouldn’t be going easy on him next time.
Next time happened to be his next turn.
He placed down the card that should’ve been an 8, but was actually a Jack. He confidently said 8. Or thought he did.
“BULLSHIT!”
He felt his hands shaking, but he did his best to ignore it as he turned the card over to show she was right.
It was bullshit.
“I love that you always try to show interest in what we all like even if you don’t really like it. Like when El started crocheting and nobody would help her understand the instructions, but you sat with her for hours while she worked it out and helped read the instructions to her when she had her hands busy.”
Eddie was smiling and nodding along like he agreed.
“That’s just what friends do.”
“Maybe. But none of her other friends were doing it, were they?”
Yeah, okay. Steve nodded and they moved on.
But his luck was long gone now, and his next card had to be a lie too.
“Bullshit.” This time Eddie called it.
Steve was doing his best not to cry, but something about hearing that pointed at him from Eddie made him feel worse.
“I love that you always hug the kids. Saying hello, saying goodbye, when you’re proud of them. You aren’t afraid to show them affection.”
Eddie was giving him a fond smile, but Steve couldn’t do anything except nod.
He couldn’t say that Eddie’s plan was really working, but maybe he needed to give it more time.
He made it through the rest of that round fine, not having to lie again, and only having to call bullshit on Robin once.
But their next round seemed to turn into them calling it on him every turn, regardless of if they thought he was lying or not.
“The way you make us all feel important.”
“Your laugh is contagious and it’s fun to see how easily it spreads through the group when you get started.”
“You always have dinner for us when we come over, and it’s always so good. Like you’ve spent the whole day making sure it’s perfect and you want us to enjoy it.”
“You never let us face anything alone. We can always rely on you to be there in whatever way we need the second we need you. No questions asked.”
Steve still flinched every time they called bullshit, but it was getting easier to move on from it and hear their compliments.
Finally, on Steve’s last turn, Eddie called it on him.
He watched as Eddie glanced over at Robin, then back at Steve, blush coloring his cheeks.
“I love that you hold my hand when we’re smoking outside because you know it helps me stay grounded and not get lost in my thoughts too much. I love that if I fall asleep on the couch, you cover me with a blanket and lay down next to me so I don’t wake up alone. I love that you always pack an extra cookie in your lunchbox just in case I visit you at work. I love that you put your entire reputation on the line to make sure I got the best care a person can have in the hospital, and even after with the physical therapy and regular brain therapy. I love that you keep finding ways to show me that sometimes popular and mainstream things are okay.” Eddie gave him a more confident smile. “I love everything about you.”
“That was more than one,” Steve said breathlessly.
“Yeah, hard to pick just one thing when I love you this much.”
“What?”
Steve was so confused. Eddie had been nice saying the things he did before, but this? There was no way he meant it.
Not the way Steve was hoping he did.
“Can you two just kiss before I puke?” Robin complained.
Eddie looked at him, a surprisingly calm smile on his face.
“Only if Stevie wants me to.”
“Mhm. Yes. Please do that,” Steve rushed out, not sure what the hell was happening, but not wanting to wait for it to change.
Eddie was up from his seat and kneeling in front of Steve in seconds, one hand on his knee and one on his cheek.
Steve wasn’t breathing. He was barely even able to focus on Eddie on his knees in front of him.
Eddie leaned in slowly, giving Steve a chance to back away if he wanted to.
But he didn’t want to.
He wanted to feel Eddie’s lips on his more than anything.
And he did.
They were surprisingly soft, but firm and demanding, making sure Steve followed him instead of the other way around.
He could distantly hear Robin eating chips, but didn’t bother to tune in to whatever she was complaining about, just enjoying the sensation of having Eddie’s lips and hands on him.
It did end though.
“You know what’s bullshit?” Steve asked.
Eddie’s eyes widened in question.
“The fact that we have to stop kissing.”
Eddie let out a loud laugh and leaned in to kiss him again.
“You know what’s bullshit to me?”
“Hm?”
“That you ever thought for one second that you weren’t amazing.”
Steve blushed, but looked at the way Eddie was looking at him.
Like he loved him. For real. No bullshit.
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To Better Things Ahead (Than What We Left Behind)
Okay, there's a video of two ladies in a golf cart and one is trying to teach her friend how to shotgun a white claw and it has SUCH Steve and Robin energy that I had to:
"Okay, so you just put your mouth on the hole that you made," Steve says patiently as Robin lifts the can to her face.
She glares balefully as she does so, with one eyebrow raised and skepticism clear in her eyes.
"Listen carefully now Buckley, these are important life skills after all," Eddie says conspiratorially to Robin and Nancy as he leans down to grab a beer for himself from the cooler, he gestures to the can as he turns to Nancy who nods. Eddie leans down a second time to grab another can and Steve can't help but stare.
How can he not, Eddie’s ass is fully on display as he leans forward, and the borrowed red trunks hug him in all the right ways. He looks at Steve briefly and winks with a wide lascivious grin complete with dimples.
Steve tries to tamp down the blush that threatens to emerge, rolling his eyes as he scoffs loudly.
He could easily blame it on the heat but Steve is also fairly certain that Nancy has now caught on to how the blush only ever surfaces when Eddie teases him --or when he took off his shirt earlier and tossed it at Steve's head.
It's not Steve's fault, he’s only human after all.
He ignores the way Nancy's blue eyes follow him with a small knowing smile as she takes the beer Eddie offers.
It's a Saturday and one of the few days that Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Eddie are completely free of obligations --school is out for the summer, the kids are all at the arcade, and none of them have been scheduled for work.
They settle beside the Harrington pool; no one has ventured into the water just yet but given the height of the sun and the rising temperature, swimming hasn't been completely written off for the rest of the afternoon.
Nancy rubs a layer of sun block on her arms and readjusts the umbrella Steve set up for her and Robin --who had previously demanded it not five seconds before abandoning the shaded seat to squeeze herself in beside Steve on the sunbleached lounge chair closest to the pool's edge.
"Okay Birdy, now in a sec you’re gonna crack the top of the can and you’ll want to tip it slightly so gravity helps you --then just start suckin’,” Steve continues, trying his best to ignore their audience and the strange flash of deja vu that hits him.
He looks up briefly at Nancy and wonders if she feels it too.
It's been a slow process, getting used to sitting beside his pool again without the constant reminder of everything that happened that night hanging over his head.
He still hasn’t reinstalled the diving board, not yet.
Steve’s gaze wanders, catching Eddie staring, the barest hint of pink begins to bloom along his cheekbones as he gestures with his beer can, "you better watch your apprentice Stevie--”
He says it just in time for Robin to crack the top of the can and a fountain of beer to explode out of it, directly into Steve’s face.
The can continues to spray out of the top as Robin thrusts it away from herself, opening her mouth to say something only to let the one successful mouthful of beer run down her chin and onto her knees.
No one says a word for five whole seconds as Steve wipes the beer out of his eyes.
Nancy and Eddie are frozen on the lounger across from them. Nancy looks as though she’s not sure if she’s allowed to laugh and her hands are braced on the seat on either side of her to launch herself off the chair at a moment's notice.
Eddie lifts a ringed hand to cover his open mouth, slapping his palm to his face just in time to catch a bark of laughter but not fast enough to cover it completely.
No one can hear it though over Steve trying to catch his breath between gasping hysterical cackles.
“Robin!” he manages to wheeze as he wipes his face with his hands again to remove the last of the beer.
She’s not listening at this point having doubled over, her shoulders heaving in silent laughter as she screams, “I breathed out!”
“Why would you do that?!” Steve splutters as another laugh splits his face into a wide grin, he slides off the lounger and onto the concrete as Robin flops backwards on the seat, holding her stomach as tears stream down her cheeks.
Steve leans over with his hand braced on the lounger and takes a deep breath to slow down the laughter, “Jesus Christ”.
“You’re both absolutely covered in beer,” Nancy says at the same time Eddie crows, “that was fucking awesome Bobs!”
"I can't take you anywhere," Steve breathes out finally as Robin sits up and meets his gaze, looking past him for just a moment before letting her eyes snap back to his face with a wide mischievous grin pulling at her lips.
Steve barely has a moment to really register the look before Robin's bare foot is lifting up to press into his chest with enough force that he's tipping backwards.
Steve manages to squawk, "Robin--" in a strangled voice before he hits the water with a huge splash. Steve kicks out his legs to try and bring himself upright and breaches the surface with a loud gasp.
Steve sputters and whips his hair out of his eyes, taking deep breaths, "what the fuck Robin," he spits out a horrible mouthful of pool water and wipes his face again to see three sets of eyes staring at him.
Eddie stands in between Nancy and Robin, who cackles gleefully at Steve.
"Come on," she giggles, "you were covered in beer, easy solution," she gestures at the pool and shoots him a wink at the offended huff Steve lets out.
"So what's your excuse?" Eddie asks slyly as he lifts his hand to the small of Robin's back and gives her a gentle shove, she opens her mouth in a gasp as she stumbles forward, losing her balance, and falls into the water beside Steve.
Eddie turns to Nancy who crosses her arms at him with a fierce glare.
Steve doesn't understand how he ever thought Nancy Wheeler was some delicate flower with that fire burning behind those blue eyes.
She lifts a single eyebrow which is enough for Eddie to step backwards with a muttered, 'oh shit,' before he's turning towards the pool himself. Steve can't help but laugh as Eddie launches himself into the water in a fairly decent approximation of a cannonball, making the water tip up onto the concrete patio.
Robin swims up beside Steve as Eddie surfaces, whipping his hair around like a dog as Nancy scolds him with a laugh in her voice.
"Did you ever think we'd get here," Robin asks him quietly, her eyes on Nancy as she takes off her sandals and walks around to the ladder on the far side of the pool.
Steve hums, quiet for a beat, as he thinks of the last time he went swimming in this pool with Nancy Wheeler.
The warm summer air and sunlight rail against the cool wind and the blanket of stars in his memory, Tommy and Carol’s jeering is slowly replaced, piece by piece, with Robin’s full belly laughter and the utter joy on Eddie’s face as the beer can exploded.
Barb's face will always be there, lingering in the shadows of his yard, but as Nancy looks at Steve with a new bright smile before tipping her face towards Robin, Steve can't help but wonder if this is how they're supposed to feel at twenty.
"I hoped," he says quietly with a shrug as Robin nods and gently knocks her shoulder into his own.
Robin reaches out and squeezes his hand once under the water before she wades towards Nancy, bouncing up and down on the tips of her toes as she goes.
A hand touches Steve’s lower back and slides around to the scarred edge, it tickles lightly as Eddie uses the contact to swing himself like a pendulum until he’s gliding through the water in front of Steve.
The sun warmed water rises in the small wake Eddie creates and Steve can’t help but admire the way the light paints his skin.
“If this is what Harrington parties were like back in the day, I think it's safe to say I am pretty put out having skipped ‘em,” Eddie gives him a lopsided grin as he edges closer.
Steve snorts even as Eddie inches even closer, as his other hand comes up to trace the scars on his other side.
“Nah,” Steve says with a soft smile, from this close he can see the faint freckles across Eddie’s nose, “you didn’t miss much”.
Eddie laughs as he leans in, “well, we got time to make up for it, hey sweetheart?”
Steve closes his eyes as Eddie runs the tip of his nose down his cheek.
They have all the time in the world, and Steve can’t wait.
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anti-curse
pairing: percy jackson x daughter of apollo!reader
summary: whether he knew it or not, percy jackson made the world a better, brighter place — and you intend to protect him, no matter what path the fates leads you down. fuck prophetic dreams. the future wasn't written in stone.
warnings/disclaimers: mentions of typical demigod things (battles, weapons, etc.); this is set during the heroes of olympus series so roughly follows that plot + features the seven demigods; mainly inspired by book!percy (dark hair, sea green eyes) bc that's the one i fell in love w growing up; characters are aged up from the book (reader + percy are meant to be 21-22 y/o) bc i imagine there was more time between prophecies/series....anyways, please enjoy <3
when you first met percy jackson, he almost shot you through the chest with an arrow.
given that apollo is your godly parent, you often found yourself at the archery field, which happened to be one of the first stops on percy’s tour of camp half-blood. after that first mishap, your other half-siblings were, understandably, too scared to let percy try again — frankly chiron seemed a bit hesitant as well — and you could sense that percy felt disheartened. so, you flashed the boy a reassuring smile before giving him a few pointers and a second chance. when he smiled back at you, you felt a fluttering in your stomach that told you percy jackson would be more than a little important in your life.
archery still wasn't percy's strong suit, but your gut feeling turned out to be true. you and percy had dealt with a lot since then — a handful of quests, several prophecies, more than a few near-death experiences, a titan war, and, maybe worst of all, high school. you couldn't imagine getting through any of it without him by your side, and you knew the feeling was mutual.
so, you were entirely anticipating that percy would be hurt by your announcement during dinner.
“no way that’s happening.” percy laughs, as if he can’t believe you’d suggest something as ridiculous as not having him accompany you on your quest. he remains unfazed, takes a sip of his electric blue coke before gesturing to the empty seat next to him. “come on, sunshine. have something to eat.”
the nickname sends your heart into a frenzy as you sit next to him. you and percy had never been anything other than friends, but sometimes....sometimes you look at his dangerous ocean eyes and wind-swept dark hair and it makes you blush. sometimes you consider the way his laughter fills you with warmth and his smile holds a thousand memories, the way he teases and winks at you and you decide that he makes your world so much brighter. sometimes you remember how sarcastic and thoughtful and loyal and reckless he is, his heart of gold and unpredictability of the sea. and you start to think that maybe possibly you'd fallen in love with your best friend.
that was not the issue at hand, though. you summon your favourite food and drink, but don't particularly feel like having either. percy returns to his conversation with hazel about how the two of you would drive up to montauk after you finally got your license, any time either of you needed to escape your reality, even just for a night. you'd sit on the beach, stargazing and roasting stale marshmallows and wishing to stay there forever. hazel seems to think that sounds like a nice escape, and percy promises that once the eight of you fulfill this prophecy, you'll all go to the beach house together, which makes hazel break out into a grin.
you can't help but smile at percy who loves his friends, who has loved you for so long. that feeling is quickly replaced by a pang in your chest that reminds you what's at stake. from the corner of your eye, you notice annabeth across from you, who looks at you like you’re a puzzle she can’t quite solve. you're trying to hide it, but if anyone can read you better than percy, it's annabeth. she knows something is weighing on your mind. you briefly lock eyes with jason, who you had gone to earlier for help, from the other side of the room, where he sits between piper and frank.
if you weren’t so distracted, you would have been able to enjoy dinner. the eight of you — all demigods of the current great prophecy — hadn’t been all together in a while, and it was nice to share a meal aboard the argo ii despite the reality of why you’d all been traveling together. leo had equipped the ship with magic plates and cups, and with the lively jokes and stories filling the air, you could almost imagine it was an ordinary summer evening at camp. you could almost forget that tomorrow, you had to go on a quest to rescue apollo and artemis from python, a monster so powerful your father barely defeated him thousands of years ago. you could almost ignore the impending war with gaea and the giants, and the doomed fate of the world if you were to fail. the one thing you could no longer ignore, however, is the gut feeling you have about the fate of the boy sitting next to you if your quest is to unfold the way you had first planned it.
you clear your throat, an attempt to interrupt the group's conversations.
“i was serious earlier,” you declare. “you’re not coming with me, percy. jason is.”
the smile percy had on his face fades. his eyes are filled with concern and disbelief, as he glances at you. “i – i don’t understand.”
"percy,” jason jumps in carefully, aware that he’s treading through dangerous waters like you had warned him. “y/n and i were strategizing earlier and it seems to make the most sense, given our powers combined."
percy shakes his head. “but — but you can’t just make last minute changes. we’ve already got everything set. right, valdez?”
leo shrugs, swallowing a mouthful of chicken before responding. “i don’t know, man. i’m no expert in quests, but it seems like i’m not the one who should be deciding this.” leo looks at you, and you nod gratefully.
you've been on edge since last night, and to calm your nerves you fiddle with the gold chain around your neck. it was a gift from your father: a necklace with a music note charm that can transform into an electric guitar or a bow and quiver. thankfully, you hadn't had to need both at the same time.
“it's up to me. and i want leo and jason to come with me.”
“then i’ll come too,” percy's voice remains calm, but insistant.
“isn’t there that thing about quests usually being done in threes?”
“that is true, piper,” percy agrees. he tilts his head towards you, like he's calling on you to remember. "exceptions have been made, though. like that one time with zoe." that had been years ago, when demigods from camp half-blood and hunters of artemis joined forces. five had been sent out on a quest, but only three came back. you shiver at the thought.
"or my quest through the labyrinth," annabeth recalls.
"but won't that also change our other plans, though?" hazel asks.
"not necessarily," you pipe in, your voice more assertive. "if jason and percy just switch. no harm done."
"we're not interchangeable," percy grumbles.
"hera sure seemed to think so!" leo searches the room for positive responses to his joke, but the most he gets is a half-hearted laugh from frank. "too soon?"
you take a deep breath. "it's not a big deal, really."
"it kind of is," percy counters. "you've never gone on a quest without me."
"you've gone on quests without me," you point out.
"that's...that's different."
"why? because i'm so weak that i need the son of the sea god to protect me at all times?"
you're giving percy the coldest stare you ever have. he hesitates to hold your gaze.
"you know that's not what i meant," he sighs.
"then what did you mean?"
percy looks at you, his eyes and tone softer. “look, sunshine, let's just stick with the plan, alright? we can just —”
“gods, you never listen, do you?" you finally snap. "you're not coming! i don’t want you there, percy!”
percy stares at you, stunned. you look around the table, and everyone looks back at you, wide-eyed. they weren’t used to this side of you, your sudden outburst not fitting in with your usually sunny disposition.
“well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” leo jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood, with less than ideal results.
“you saw something in your dreams, didn’t you?” annabeth realizes.
her conclusion makes you freeze.
demigod dreams are always significant, carrying vivid images of monsters, messages from friends or enemies. some children of apollo like you had visions of the future — pseudo prophecies that are supposedly set to unfold given the path you’re on. technically, you weren’t supposed to share your visions, something about messing with fate or destiny, but that didn’t mean you had to accept the way things were.
what you saw in your dreams last night, what might happen to percy, made your blood run cold.
you would defy all the laws of the universe and divine rules if it meant you could protect him. so fuck the path the fates are attempting to lead you down, and fuck prophetic dreams. you refuse to let percy die. no matter how frustrated you’re acting towards him in this moment, you know he would still do the same for you.
you figure that the future isn't written in stone, right?
either way, you're willing to challenge destiny for percy jackson.
without answering annabeth, you get up from the table and take a deep breath, carefully avoiding percy’s gaze.
“i go with leo and jason, or i go alone.” your voice is steady, fighting the heavy beating of your heart and tears caught in your throat. “either way, i leave in the morning.” you exit the mess hall before anyone — before percy — can protest.
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